Pussy Willows?

At the end of winter/start of spring some willows are among the earliest bloomers, providing nectar for the "early bird" - or should I say the early bee and other insects hunting for food seemingly long before any flowers are around.

For many people "Pussy Willows" are a sure sign of spring and a few branches with the fuzzy little catkins are picked for a vase.

What is a "Pussy Willow"? Some sources name the North American native willow Salix discolor and Salix caprea (Goat Willow, native to Europe and parts of Asia) as being pussy willows while other sources ad other Salix species under the title. In your mind, do you think "Salix discolor" when you hear pussy willow? or just any willow, blooming with catkins?

When you grow willows for basketry and/or cuttings, you most often harvest the rods before any catkins are visible, but this winter we had lots of snow in the field, so when spring "suddenly" came a few of my willows started to show their beautiful catkins.

These are from some "wild" willows that I have, maybe one of them is Salix discolor.

Salix dasyclados

Salix 'Americana'

Salix koriyanagi 'Rubykins'

Salix sachaliensis 'Sekka'

 

Salix viminalis

My Salix acutifolia doesn't show any catkins, but take a look at the blogpost about them at my blogger friend Vivian (Piletossen) - they almost look unreal.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Living Willow Weaving - Workshop

Over the past couple of years I have been working with living willow creations, making "potted trees" for use in the garden, on the patio, at your front door, or anywhere you would like a small ornamental tree. After a season or two it is transplanted to the garden as it gets too "crammed" in the pot.
I am holding two workshops here for anyone who would be interested in participating, making their own tree or two. Two different "models" will be taught with choice of using different willow varieties for the trees:

A "basic" twisted tree (with variations), simple and classy. As the tree grows the 9 willow whips used to create the "twist" will - as they grow and expand - eventually grow together and look like a thick rope.

A "fancier" "Harlequin" tree. The pictures show use of a few different willow varieties as well as both summer and fall foliage of Salix koriyanagi 'Rubykins'. The willow whips in the "trunk" on this tree will also over the years fuse together as they grow.

Workshops scheduled:

Saturdays April 10 and April 17, 2010.

Start 10 a.m. Length of the workshop will depend on "model" and number of trees.

11770 Lakeshore Rd, Wainfleet

There's a $ 10 cover fee + cost of materials: Twisted tree $ 35.00, Harlequin tree $ 115.00

Bring your own lunch. Coffee, tea, and water is on me.

Please contact me by mail (find it under "Who is Salix" on left panel) to sign up or if you have any questions about the workshops.

Hope to see you there.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Looking for willow cuttings for sale?

I had a plan........
My web-site was going to be up and running long time ago and among other things it would have information about willow cuttings for sale!
..........it didn't happen.......yet.......
So, if you are looking to buy willow cuttings I want you to know that - here in a country corner of Southern Ontario, Niagara - I have some for sale.

The image is from winter/spring 2009 and I used it in my post in May about willow cuttings.

Some of the cuttings have small roots developing already - that's the small white "knobs" that are visible on some.

Not everything goes according to plan.......I also wanted to post more about my willow varieties, but only 3 posts are up: Salix alba+, Salix koriyanagi 'Rubykins', and Salix 'Americana' and Salix purpurea 'Streamco', but that doesn't mean they are the only ones that I offer cuttings from.

For now, I have to refer you to my list of varieties, posted in the left column on the blog.

My 2010 prices are as follows:

 5 cuttings of a variety $   7.50

10 cuttings of a variety $ 12.50

20 cuttings of a variety $ 20.00

Minimum order is $ 20 and the cost of shipping will be added.

If you have any questions or would like to place an order, please send me a mail (you find my e-mail address under "Who is Salix?" on the left, by my picture.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Salix alba x for winter colour

The third post in a series about my willows is about Salix alba, White Willow and some of its hybrids.
The many varieties and hybrids of Salix alba offer beautiful "sunshine" colours for the winter garden.

Salix alba 'Chermesina' click image to enlarge

Salix alba 'Chermesina', Redstem willow truly lights up in a snow filled landscape. These photos from March 2009 show plants planted from cuttings in April 2008. The bud scales are flat and yellow.

The bright yellow-orange-reddish colours are unique to the newest growth on a dormant willow plant. As I coppice (cut down to the ground) my willows every year, they will always show colour on the whole plant during winter. When the plant is left un-pruned the colours will slowly change to brown and only the newest growth will show colour during the dormant season.

Salix x 'Flame' click image to enlarge

The new growth on 'Flame' in early summer is very pretty with red stems and orangey-red tender leaves, but during the summer the plants turn rather dull with light greenish-yellow branches. As the plants prepare for dormancy, they start to take on the fiery colours.

Salix x rubens 'Hutchinson's Yellow' click image to enlarge

Salix x rubens, Hybrid Crack Willows, are hybrids between Salix alba and S. fragilis and they hybridize readily in nature.

The seasonal changes for 'Hutchinson's Yellow' are very much the same as for the above 'Flame' and they both have beautiful red bud scales on the dormant rods. Looking at the plants up close, it is difficult to tell the difference. From a distance, however, the overall winter colouring is darker, reddish for 'Flame' and more yellow, orangey for 'Hutchinson's Yellow'.

Salix x 'Red Corkscrew Willow' click image to enlarge

The corkscrew willows have become very popular for floral arrangements and are available at most floral suppliers. If you'd like to grow your own, it is very easy and you don't need to have space in your garden for a big tree. When you coppice the plant in early spring, you'll end up with 5-7' long curly branches by fall and they will develop beautiful colour when dormant. There are different varieties yielding different colours.

Some Salix alba varieties have flexible rods and are also used for basketry. The yellow colours are attractive, often used for contrast although the colours change drastically during the drying and subsequent soaking of the rods. Sometimes the rods are woven before they are completely dry and still flexible enough for weaving which often results in work keeping more of the original colours.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Winter's Beauty

One of my favourite blogs: Gardening Gone Wild has long tempted me with their monthly contest, Picture This Photo Contest. For January 2010 the theme is "Winter's Beauty" and the many photos submitted (go to the comments for their contest post) truly show that there is beauty to be found in winter. You may not like the cold, ice, snow, and dark, but admit that there is lots of beauty!
Being new to photography, I finally this month decided to participate, and here is my chosen photo:

Although the snow is not visible on the photo, it is covering the ground in a thick, soft layer and I believe it gives the photo it's special light and colours - helped by the red twigs on the dogwoods in a distance.

The longest month!

31 days don't make January THE longest month of the year. Yet in my mind no other month feels nearly as long as this frosty, crispy one, dark hours (black out here in the country) out-numbering by far daylight hours so intensly wished for to replenish our bodies and souls. By mid-month I feel that Christmas must be at least three months past - and not just three weeks

The images of tree and decorations long gone from my mind and only found in my photos.

As it happens every year the tree branches, separated from the trunk, waiting to serve as protection for the strawberry patch when the snow melts - which is rapidly happening today.

The planters outside - prepared before the Holiday season - will continue to remind us, until spring comes around - or rather until I dismantle them and replace with potted spring bulbs or pansies.

In the field the willows are dormant. I didn't harvest any this season yet as some of my varieties went dormant (dropping their leaves) rather late due to the warm fall weather and after that, lots of rain made it impossible for me to work in the field.

The colored rods look beautiful with the white snow - in the picture to the left is Salix x rubens 'Huchinson's Yellow' in front of S. koriyanagi 'Rubykins' the grayish green stems visible behind the yellow ones. To the right the open, though healthy vigorous first year's growth of S. dasyclados.

The Danish song treasure is vast and loved by most Danes. I'll admit that I often - when working outside or just being alone - sing out loud (sometimes just in my head) and recently it's been one of the beautiful songs by B.S. Ingemann, "I sne står urt og busk i skjul" written in 1831. I know that I cannot translate this without losing some of the beauty - I'd just like to share the feeling - it's sweet and comforting for the longest month:

In snow shrub and herb is hid
It is so cold out there!
Though, a tiny bird singing,
on twig by frozen pane!

Give time! Give time! it sings out glad,
shaking those small wings
Give time - and every twig has leaf!
Give time - all blooms unfold!

Christmas - Jul countdown

Jul, the Danish word for Christmas, is pronounced as the English word Yule and is of the same origin. But the Danish Christmas traditions and how people prepare and decorate their homes are very different from what I have seen in Canada.
The "Advendt Wreath" is typically the first sign in the home that Christmas is approaching. To me it has always been a part of my Christmas preparations and the first of four candles was lit on Sunday November 29. Yesterday we had two candles lit, three next Sunday, and all four will be burning on the last Sunday before Christmas. The tradition originated in Germany in late 1800 and it was first seen in the Southern part of Denmark around World War I. During World War II it became a new Christmas tradition in all of Denmark.
At the top are images of my wreaths from other years and this year I have made a more untraditional one.

I cut a branch off one of my Curly willows and twisted it into a wreath. Then I tied small bundles of red eucalyptus to it using a gold thread and placed it on a large platter made from pewter. I placed four block candles in the middle and I was done.

During The Second World War people began another tradition, the "Calender Candle". The first ones were "homemade" by drawing numbers 1-24 on a thick candle. In 1942 the first Calender Candles for sale by the Danish candle manufacturer Asp Holmblad were produced and today many different styles can be found. As I cannot buy the Danish candles that I like here, I use to buy a couple when I visit or have someone visiting here bring me one. This year I didn't have any, so I made it myself. It sits on the kitchen island on a plate with some homemade stars made from golden paper strips and willow.

On the kitchen island is also my cute little Danish "Christmas troll" that my Danish girlfriend sent me a couple of years ago along with some nice poinsettias in a traditional red colour.

For the livingroom I purchased a new 2009 variety Ice Punch which lights up nicely with it's white sections on the leaves.