Saturday, February 28, 2009

Saga of the Pussy Willow


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Memorial Day 2007 we came home to find our old, 30 foot tall pussy willow (Salix discolor) lying in the yard. The event wasn’t totally unexpected. The huge tree had been ailing for years. Nevertheless, loss of an old shade tree was sad.

As we cleaned up the fallen branches, scored the stump and chopped the trunk into liftable pieces, we became resigned to the fact that our shade garden was now a full sun garden.

Later that summer we noticed growth at one end of the stump. (New growth at top of picture.)
Last year the pussy willow reached 10 feet.
And … this year it blooms – a happy ending.

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(Information on the Pussy Willow from Westborough Community Land Trust in Massachusetts.)

2 comments:

Chandramouli S said...

That's good to hear - the tree regrowing, but aren't trees the only beings on earth whose [almost] every part can be used right away?

Marie said...

CS,

I guess that's true. The large stump pieces went to a friend's wood burning stove. The branches went to the city's mulch recycling site.