Willow

As you can see from the photos I’ve completed my trellis made from found cut willow.  However, two friends have informed me that willow can self seed from a stump.  Dean who keeps bees on the allotment has built a partial screen made from willow  to stop children stumbling across them.  He thinks the willow may root and bud.  A friend in work told me the same thing and gave me advice on growing arches from the branches. 

The wood we found cut easily and I could thread the long branches through each other readily enough.  The willow has abundant watery bark and sap saturated with salicylic acid.  This chemical or hormone is similar to aspirin.  The leaves and bark of this magnificent tree have been used in medicine as a remedy for aches and fever in Ancient Greece and the Middle East.  So alongside the Pulsatilla which will be growing at the foot of these stumps, and the Passiflora which will be growing up it and the various weeds in the garden which contain medicinal properties I will be well placed to deal with aliments in the future.  I will see how the Willow stumps grows. 

Making a trellis from willow

Willow Structure