Snow Loops

It been cold and sunny for the last week. With the snow hanging around on the deciduous branches for such a long time, it has taken on some rather interesting shapes. These I call snow loops.

Salix alba 'Britzensis'

A magazine has asked me for some pictures of Salix alba 'Britzensis'. Trouble is that it just isn't as bright or as orangey a red color as last winter! The top picture was taken yesterday, the one below was taken in February of this year. The bottom picture is not a large enough file size for a magazine. I can't figure out what happened to the original of it. In a moment of stupidity I must have deleted them.

What a gorgeous willow this is!! As long as it is coppiced (cut back to the ground) every year, it's new growth will be red. Or should I say that its new growth will turn red later in the season. Willows undergo some amazing changes as fall approaches. I will have to dig through my files and show more on this subject in another post.

This willow grows to about 7 or 8' every year and then gets cut back to ground level in the spring. That's all there is to it! Oh, then you have to enjoy it all winter. Tough job.

Well, it seems that in order to make this post look nice, I need to fill in this area. So I guess I will tell you a little more about this willow. It will grow to about 20' if left unpruned, but then it won't have as much new growth every year and therefore won't have the density of red branches.

Salix x Flame has pretty much the same color branches but is a couple of feet shorter. In the fall it also has spectacular yellow leaves contrasting the red stems. I doubt that I will ever forget the sight of the yellow and red S. Flame right next to the S. Britzensis with its leaves still green but its stems a bright red.

Winter and the Linden Tree

We have quite a bit of snow for this time of the year. Since it is staying on the trees and looking picture perfect, I am not complaining. A bonus has been some gorgeous sunny days! Time to take out the camera. Just wish I could capture the scene the way it really looks.

The tree is a Linden tree. When we first moved here we naively planted it in the shelter of a number of fir trees. It is an understatement to say I have learned a lot since then!! The Linden now gets more sun and rewards us with the most incredibly delicious scent in the early summer. In the fall the gorgeous yellow leaves cast a golden glow in our house as it sits right outside the window of our dining area. In the winter I hang bird feeders from it and we have a great view of the action. Its many tiny branches catch and hold the snow which in turn shows off the tiny details on the tree. I really like this tree.