In May of 2024, we planted a Sali Willow Garden in the wet area at the bottom of the Lavender terraces. It included a Rainbow Garden and several ornamental pussy willows.
Daphnoids Red Rocket – highly ornamental, flashy pussy willow used for wattle fencing.
pendulima f. Erythroflexuosa Scarlet Curly Willow – red ornamental. Weeping. Vibrant color. Ornamental cut stems. Privacy screen. Nice bouquet if mixed with Mt Aso.
pendulima f. Erythroflexuosa Sunny Twist Yellow Curly – yellow ornamental, weaving accents, cut stems, landscape plant. Weeping. Grows fast with consistent tortuosity. Branches turn orange-red when leaves drop in fall. Great for wreath making and floral design, and adds interesting fall color in the landscape, as a hedge. Coppice annually for the best color.
Purpurea ‘Packing Twine’ – basket weaving, fine. A popular basketry willow from Ireland, Packing Twine has long, thin, very flexible rods with no branching. Dries to a light to medium olive brown, with the base of the rods slightly browner.
Purpurea ‘Dicky Meadows’ – basket weaving, all rounder. Slender flexible rods. Deer resistant. Go to basketry willow.
Acutifolia ‘Blue Streak’ – boost for pollinators. Winter color. Straight cut stems, pointed silvery- white catkins to 2 in. Flashy catkin. Ornamental. Slow grower.
Daphnoides ‘Ovaro Udine’ – Violet willow. Vigorous grower with very dark stems and blue green leaves. Structures, weaving, ornamental, cut stems. Wattle fence, furniture. Grows to 18′ in 2 yrs after coppicing with very little branching. Female catkins gray turn to green. Flashy pussy willow.
Purpurea ‘Bleu’ -basket weaving willow. Purple violet. Weaving. Ornamental tree, wattle fence, privacy. Deer resistant. Slender rods in abundance. 12 ft tall.
Purpurea ‘Leicestershire Dicks’ – purple osier willow. Weaving. Deer resistant, shrub. Medium sized basketry willow similar to packing twine. Plants produce consistently sized, straight, flexible, unbranched rods that are also great for woven garden elements such as plant supports and hurdle fencing. Also suitable for woven, living fences.
Koriyanagi ‘Rubykins’ – deer don’t find it yummy and can be used for many things including living willow structures, lovely dried rods. Wattle fence, privacy, weaving. Fine basket weaving. A fabulous and graceful willow that has long, slender, non branching rods up to 10’. Produces small, pinkish-gray pussy willow catkins, with a wilder, more delicate look than most. New leaf growth is pink tinged and beautiful, and a favorite for landscape work, including hedges and living fences. We love viewing these rows as they sway in the breeze. Beautiful in basketry, but not the easiest willow to weave.
Gracilistyla ‘Mt Aso’– pink pussy willow. Medium shrub. Rods can be cut in early Feb to bloom by Valentine’s day. It is a lower growing willow shrub that will not overtake your garden, and produces plentiful fuzzy pink pussywillow catkins that are wonderful in early spring floral designs.
Leucopithecis ‘Winter Glory’– beautiful catkins and food for pollinators strong and can be used for many things including living structures. Floral arrangements. 3 inch fluffy catkins. Straight rods for flower arrangement. Basketry. Living Willow structures. This very large pussy willow produces beautiful dark red buds that erupt into large, fuzzy, silver catkins. Our earliest blooming pussy willow, (mid-late winter depending on your zone.) The red buds are gorgeous in holiday decor, and the silver catkins that emerge later are a whole other show!
Hakuro Nishiki. Dappeled Willow. Ornamental. Cut stems. Supposedly doesn’t appreciate damp areas but ours is nearly flooded every time it rains or sprinklers. Performs well in fine basketry. Makes beautiful harlequin trees and living hedges.
Yellow Dogwood
Red Twig Dogwood
We will see how the varieties will do in our micro climate. So far they are growing very well.
