Do you remember as a child spotting these two iconic heralders of spring? They seem to have passed me by over the last couple of years, although you they seem to be more easily seen and purchased in florists now. Except for Christmas holly it is one of the rare occasions when we bring parts of the tree into our homes.
Is it penduline swinging shape of the catkins or the furry feel of the pussy willow that appeals the most? A bit of both, I think, and more especially, their lovely sounding feline names that makes them easy to remember and evokes all sorts of images. Is there a tiny kitten curled up in that pussy willow or has a cat lost their paw? As children we called catkins sheep’s tails and imagined a field full of tailless sheep
The catkins from the Hazel tree seem to be prolific this year. They are all around in gardens, parks, woods and by the side of the verge. Not so the pussy willow it is much harder to find. We used to have an old goat willow in the garden so took its early buds for granted. But it is not an ideal garden tree and hence cannot be found easily in suburbia. I have only located one place in south west London where pussy willow can be found. The native planting at the London Wetlands Centre in Barnes is full of willow and it has a superb collection of pussy willow flowering at present.
The next time you are out for a walk go on a hunt with your children for these inspiring creations of nature and create a few more memories. Hope you enjoy the following poem.
THE WILLOW CATS
by Margaret Widdemer
They call them pussy-willows,
But there’s no cat to see
Except the little furry toes
That stick out on the tree:
I think that very long ago,
When I was just born new,
There must have been whole pussy-cats
Where just the toes stick through—-
And every Spring it worries me,
I cannot ever find
Those willow-cats that ran away
And left their toes behind!
Comments are closed.