I’ve got a big project to make this summer (more about that in another post) which needs a good quantity of long straight willow. When I saw a facebook post from Adele offering more than 100 prunings from her willow hedge free for removal, I jumped at the chance. 

When we got to Adele’s she had already quality-controlled the willow into five piles sorted acording to length. I couldn’t take all of them but reduced the piles a bit, taking a mixture. We’re not sure what species of willow it is, but it looks fine for the purpose I’ve got in mind. 

I couldn’t believe that the prunings were only one year’s growth. When we tied them on to the roof bars on the car they were overhanging both ends. They must be more than twelve feet long. That’s 6 inches a week in a six month growing season. Nearly an inch a day. You could sit and watch!

This wee basket used up some of the thinnest and whippiest twigs. I’ll deliver it to Adele this week as a thank-you for some very useful materials.