We have a number of visits from wild turkeys in the fall & winter. Here they are trudging across the lavender field. They check out our compost, tour around our pond, pick around the apple trees and confuse the cats. They are quite large as you can see by the comparison to our chairs!
Grandpa & Grandma turkeys taking a tour- Huge ones!
While the tradition is to plant cutting in the the Spring, my environmental background lead me to research that planted willow cuttings in the fall in order to restore Riparian banks along rivers and ponds. So risking only the time it took to gather heirloom cuttings from road allowances all over the township, we planted hundreds in the late fall just before the ground froze. I had leftovers that were in buckets of water in the garage with little natural light and guess what happened! They rooted wildly in the water buckets over the weeks left alone there.
So I went to the dollar stores for galvanized metal buckets in order to find affordable ways in which to pot these cuttings and let them grow all over the house where ever there is a a window. I wanted small pots so they could sit on the window sills and look nice in the house. Maybe one day we will build a greenhouse. I have used soil for seedlings and no chemicals because willow has its own growth hormone.
I have meticulously labeled each pot with where I found the willow, so if it dries to a nice colour, I will know where to go back for more. I am enjoying preserving the species that have been growing wild here for years and hope to identify what kinds I have as they grow. I will update you along the way on how they do in pots and in the spring we will plant them in tilled soil.
Varieties found along road allowances in the Blue Mountains.
Look at the lovely colour variation when dried! It might change some as cutting are planted in new soils etc.
I was in the Clarksburg Artisan Market on the Thanksgiving Weekend. For this I added to my inventory a harvesting basket for the them of the weekend. It turned out well following Jon Ridgeon’s book, and I like the creative handles I made from the overlapping fresh heritage willow I used to make the frame. They are really comfortable and yet artistic. I learned to split the ribs from fresh willow too from Jon’s book.
See my favourite moment at the Artisan Market post too!
Those are our own heritage apples- different varieties harvested from our 13 trees.
One of my favourite spots nearby is the Mill Creek at the 6th Sideroad bridge here in the Blue Mountains. As part of the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust Nature Photo of the Week 4-Seasons Challenge, I am taking a photo here each season. The creek flows northwest into the Beaver River. In the background is a section of the Little Germany Management Area (Grey Sauble Conservation Authority).
Morning sunlight beams across the shallow creek that ripples quietly over rocks. Spring brings the shoreline purple Iris flowers in the foreground and white flowering bushes in the background.
The creek quietly sleeps under the blanket of snow and ice.
Spring sunset over the lavender field.
I now have 36 lavenders planted, because some of my first varieties have not survived this cold zone’s winters. This year, I selected 18 Phenomenals because of their tolerance to cold (here in a cold altitude of Zone 4) and their ultra long stems. They are already blooming and have a lovely scent. Sellers of this variety are few and far between because of its patent, so I went to Richters. I hope to weave small baskets from these lovely stems that are already 18 to 24 inches long!
The first two rows which includes 50 feet of lavender.
I have tilled 3 approximately 65-foot rows so that I can snake 200 feet of soaker hoses along them nestled in the wood chips. I have had to add a third row because my Mom and I rescued a number of cheap mystery tomatoes and peppers from the greenhouse. I have 24 tomato plants alone! We have natural berry bushes around the property, so I am also tucking them in at the end of the rows.
May 24: Heirloom willow at the end of our concession. It sits in water all year long.
I took a walk down to the end of my concession to see the start of the heirloom willow growing season. There are two distinct varieties, both of which have found their way up to our property too. I’d like to find out what kind these two are! There has been pioneer settlement here since the 1870s, so I am not sure if this is true natural or transplanted for settler’s sally patches.
Heirloom Mystery #1
Heirloom Mystery #2
This is the spring brook we have flowing down from the marsh at the roadside into our pond. After the winter flattened the tall grasses, I discovered another dozen heirloom willows I missed transplanting in the fall!
April 29. 2018: Some areas are clear of snow but my new willow patch locations still have a foot of snow and rock hard ground.
My willow walk on April 15, 2018!
April 15: The new willow patch location- my cuttings will have to remain sleeping in a cold dark place for awhile longer!
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