Thursday 1st February 2024
Basket Osier
Today we continued clearing overgrowth in the 'Basket Osier' and 'Rowan' border at the top of the arboretum.
Basket Osier (Salix viminalis) has been used for centuries for basket weaving. We cut back all the dead shoots from last year to encourage new shoots to appear this year. These can be harvested later for some weaving project!
We also discovered and cleared around two more Rowan specimens to join the previously solitary example we knew about.
Not a surprising discovery as most tree specimens in the arboretum have been planted in groups of three!
A little project in the offing is willow weave bird feeders. However, there is currently a lack of materials. Patience is a virtue!
