| The
basket making willows |
|
Salix
purpurea
Tall
& fine willows known for their great workability and beautiful
earthy colours in a basket.
Thought to be less palatable to rabbits and hares than some other
species, so may be particularly suited for living barriers where these
herbivores are a problem.
|
| Variety name |
What
it looks like |
Description |
| Dicky Meadows |
 |
A
well-known and
justifiably popular variety with
an acid green stem running to reddish tips. 3' - 7'
|
Dicky Meadows
|
 |
Hazell's hint
- Dicky Meadows
- the most useful of all
purpurea varieties. Can grow 2m in some years.
Slender and very flexible. Lovely bright green when fresh, dries to a
mid-brown, not too
dark |
| Green Dicks |
 |
Similar to
Dicky Meadows; paler green and without the red tips. 3' - 7' .
Retains more of a green colouration than the others once dry.
|
Green Dicks
dry |
 |
Hazell's
hint - a good general-purpose
purpurea. Can grow tall (2m+) and will make a border if well
soaked and
mellowed. Bright green when fresh and dries to an attractive
and
distinctive silvery green. |
| Dark Dicks |
 |
Redder
than Dicky Meadows, with a green mottling to red tips. 3' - 7'
Hazell's hint - A thicker type of purpurea than
the above. Not as flexible as Dicky or
Norbury, and can be difficult to work as a border rod. Dries
to a dark
green, often with attractive buds on the stem. Ideal for
weaving up the
sides of a shopper or log basket.
|
| Light Dicks |
picture
to follow |
Similar to
Dark Dicks but paler green. 3' -
7' |
| Norbury |
 |
A finer
version of Dark Dicks, but not reaching much more than 5'. Very flexible and
great for fine work
|
Norbury
dry |
 |
Hazell's hint - Wonderful! A very
slender
variety and very flexible. Perfect for fine work, and for
wrapped
handles. Not very tall, best for small/medium work.
Dries to a
lovely pale brown, sometimes almost pink |
| Brittany Greens |
 |
Similar
to Dark Dicks but a little taller and greener. To 7' |
Goldstones
dry |
|
Quite a large
purpurea - tall and a bit solid. Green when fresh and stays a beautiful
green after
drying (shown here with buff) |
| Leicestershire Dicks |
picture
to follow |
Similar to
Norbury and Dark Dicks - perhaps somewhere between the two in
size |
Salix
triandra
Slightly taller and
perhaps a
little more bulky than the purpureas, these lovely waxy willows form
the backbone of the large-scale willow growing industry to the point
that one variety, Black Maul is grown almost to the exclusion of all
others, in the production of 'buff' willow. With good reason; they work
very well, are long and have a very
gentle taper. |
| Black
Maul |
 |
The
commercial variety. Long, slender and very flexible with stems that
vary between pale to slate, slightly greenish grey. To 7' + |
| Noire
de Villaine |
 |
A
similar willow to Black Maul, but a very attractive brown stem from a
brown/green butt |
| S. alba x vitellina x fragilis |
| Flanders Red |
 |
A gorgeous and
popular willow
– waxy, with a red/orange bark. To 6' |
Flanders Red
dry |
 |
|
| S. triandra x viminalis |
| Whissender |
 |
Lovely
olive green/khaki; tall – to 8’. A waxy and more
bulky variety |
Whissender
dry |
 |
Whissender,
shown here in a basket border |
| Trustworthy |
 |
This
is a lovely
willow with stems that change from yellow/green at the butt to
red/brown tips. A bit shorter than Whissender and not as prolific, so
we never have much of it |
Trustworthy
dry |
 |
Trustworthy in
a basket border |
| S. nigricans |
 |
Perhaps
not really
a basketmaking species as it won't make a border reliably, but this
willow is
very beautiful and a fantastic, glossy, deep brown/black which gets
blacker as it
dries; so a little
in a weave goes a long way. It branches a lot so we harvest only a
small
amount of unbranched material each year. A great willow for a
vase. |
S.
nigricans
dry |
|
Nigricans - a
single line in a shopper side weave. Very effective. |
| Structural
Willows- The
varieties described below are all suitable for structures - living or
dead; plant supports, sculptures, really big
basketry and lots of other stuff. We do have a lot of varieties
available and if you wish you can have exactly the ones you want. If
however, you find this array of choice less than fascinating, just let
us know what you want in the way of length, butt diameter and
colour together with what you have
in mind to do with it and we will do our very best to supply willow
that will be just what you need. If in doubt call
or email to have a chat. |
| S.
caprea
x cinerea x viminalis |
| Dasyclados |
 |
Tall
(to 8/9'), dark purple/red stems, pretty much butt to tip. Lovely
colour
and quite flexible. In common with most daphnoides, a beautiful but
very delicate pale purple bloom develops on the bark after cutting |
| Caladendron |
picture
to follow |
A
tall (8'), glossy willow with deep red stems that change to red/green
at the butts. Very flexible |
Salix
viminalis -
we currently grow 6 varieties all of which are pretty similar in form
and colour (named varieties - Harrison's
seedling, Mullatin, A2, Longifolia,
Campbell
3106, Gigantea).
They are all suitable
for
structures and sculptures. We usually have some 2
year old
material which is great for the heavy duty elements you might need in
structures - as with all our willow, we can supply it live or dead. All
varieties dry to a rich, more or less terracotta/brown colour |
| Harrison's
seedling |
|
A beautiful,
claret willow. Dries
to rust colour. Quite slender for a viminalis. Very flexible and
workable. To 8' |
| Mullatin |
|
Attractive,
slightly bronze stems,
works well. To 9' |
| A2 |
 |
Greener than
the others when fresh
|
| Longifolia |
picture
to follow |
Much like the
others - the work
horse of the willow world. More yellow than the other vims when fresh |
| Campbell 3106 |
 |
Great willow,
similar to the other
viminalis |
| Gigantea |
picture
to follow |
Big but not
noticeably bigger than
those above, despite the name |
| Salix
daphnoides |
| Continental
purple |
 |
Tall
(to 8/9'), dark purple/red stems, pretty much butt to tip. Lovely
colour
and quite flexible. In common with most daphnoides, a beautiful but
very delicate, pale, purple, prunescent' bloom
develops on the bark after cutting |
| Sinker |
 |
A
tall (8'), glossy willow with deep red stems that change to red/green
at the butts. Very flexible |
| 'W' |
picture
to follow |
Very
similar to Sinker. |
| Decorative
Willows- we
think all of our willows are lovely as things of beauty in their own
right; however, here are some that are particularly wonderful to behold |
| Salix
nigricans |
|
A
very beautiful willow with
a fantastic, glossy, deep brown/black stem which gets blacker as it
dries. Quite branched - a disadvantage for basket making but something
that makes it very attractive as a decorative specimen; perhaps as a
part of a flower arrangement or simply on its own. |
| Salix
matsudana |
| Caradoc |
 |
A tall,
contorted willow with
striking yellow stems making it a great choice for flower arrangements
or on its own in a big vase (or basket). Also makes for fantastic
flourishes in other willow things - wreaths, fences, balls; but it's
fragile, branchy and tricky to work without breaking. Sometimes worth
the effort though. |
| S. alba x fragilis
|
| Golden willow |
 |
This willow
is gorgeous. Quite fine and tricky to work (it will go in a weave
though), but well worth the effort. Lovely in a vase or for some winter
colour in a garden border |
| S. alba chermesina
|
| Cardinalis |
 |
A beautiful
willow with brilliant
yellow butts changing to orange/red tips. Quite branched which is
pretty good for a vase display - looks lovely with decorations hung on
it. Some unbranched material available which can be worked into a weave
to add a striking yellow highlight. To 7'. Great to add a yellow stripe
to a hurdle or other similar work but won't take kindly to hard turns |
