I took this photo of golden, coral bark and green curly willow branches in early spring while they were still dormant and at their best colorwise. The green and coral bark were harvested from my trees, and the golden had just arrived in the mail. Golden is a new variety for me and I look forward to seeing it against a backdrop of snow. But don’t misread me. As hot and humid as it is I’m not suggesting that winter should arrive early.

I’m also growing scarlet curly willow for the first time. This curly willow’s +1 year growth is purple, and the new growth is scarlet- both great colors which makes it my favorite, for the moment anyway. I believe it has great promise and I’m enjoying watching it grow.

Today I started planting hardwood cuttings of red, yellow and copper twigged dogwood, bittersweet, sycamore and 2 pieces of Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick that were gnawed off my tiny new tree by a dog (ARRRGH!). I don’t expect Harry to root but I just couldn’t bear to part with the beautiful contorted twigs. Dealing with hardwood cuttings makes me nervous, as there are several different ways to do it, each of which seeming to defy the logic of the others and leaving me unsure whether I’m doing anything right. Will they be doomed since they were stored in a Rubbermaid tote in an unheated room rather than under ground? Were they harmed by temperature fluctuations? And now that they are planted outside will random night-time lows in the teens do them in? These are just a few of the questions that plague me about this underused propagation method. But in spite of all the uncertainty, I plan to keep on taking hardwood cuttings because A. It’s the only thing resembling gardening I can do in this climate in winter, and B. It’s low tech, requiring no artificial heat or light and I find that very attractive.

We’ve been having a few days of freezing fog lately. Makes for some neat photos. Make sure you click the 4 corner button near the bottom right to view full screen — looks better that way.

If the above slideshow doesn’t work for you (mom), these same pictures can be found on our flickr site.

Perhaps it is the cooler temps and soggy ground – (stereo)typical weather  of New England states – but whatever the cause, the fall color has been vibrant this year. If only our trees were a little bigger.

The cabin blends nicely with the natural color. Almost like we planned it. Maybe Anne did – I’m a little color challenged.

It’s tree blooming time. Plums and wild plums appear to be the first to bloom.

And then I might place my money on the cherry trees, but the red buds aren’t too far behind. The crab apples have sprouted small clusters of leaves. I’m not sure, but I think they will leaf out more before blooming. The plums are very fragrant, or they would be if it would stop raining long enough to smell them. We did need the rain, but I’d like to have it stop now for a bit.

At the end of the comfortable season last year, Anne cleaned out and trimmed back an unruly and overgrown corner of our property. In the process, some attractive trees were exposed and the space was transformed from eye-sore to natural wonderland. But it was a dead-end wonderland as the trickle of the stream isolated this spot from the rest of the property. All we could do was turn around and walk back along the same path. The solution was to incorporate some railroad ties into the landscape.

With the addition of the bridge, the steps beyond seemed like a natural extension. Now we have a wooded/shade garden area to consider. I can smell the hostas blooming already.

Or is it just “Willowrama?”

Regardless of the term, we do have quite a few curly willow cuttings growing inside and more out planted in the garden. The garden is still dormant, but we expect some good growth from these cuttings. Then we will plant some around the property and pot some for sale at the local farmer’s market. Anne has already sold a few cuttings on Craiglist (Cedar Rapids, IA). They are fast growers and offer attractive twisting structure during Winter. The picture above shows the catkin or bloom of the willow.