Sometime between my May tree following post and now my affection for my willow has rapidly diminished. Remember those innocent looking catkins - well every year without fail they turn into a billion of fluffy missiles that float away causing an unsightly mess in their wake. This year's initial snowstorm coincided with the late May bank holiday and is still continuing. The fluffies coat the ground, the washing line, the greenhouse etc., etc. and would no doubt make their way into every room in the house if we were to leave the windows open. Sometimes the fall is so intense that I'm too frightened to open my mouth outside but as I mentioned in a previous post I count myself lucky. I could after all live in Moscow and have to contend with some decidedly anti-social female Balsam poplar trees.
Another happening has been the appearance of orange blisters on the some of the willow leaves. I think that these may be some sort of rust fungus but need to find out more. I'm going to see if I can get hold of a leaf to examine this phenonomen more closely. This will involve an almost impossible aerobic feat so don't hold your breath. I've also only just noticed the dark spots on some of the leaves in the photo. My eyes must have been distracted by the fluffies when I took the photo. I'm not sure what these marks could be.
I'm sure that the willow hosts all sorts of wildlife but rather disappointingly I've only observed the odd squirrel and wood pigeon in its branches. Underneath has more or less morphed into a mass of humungous nettles dotted by the odd fern.
No doubt I will harbour fonder feelings for my willow by next month but in the meantime I hope to discover some better behaved trees over at Loose And Leafy. Thanks to Lucy for giving us the opportunity to share news of our chosen trees each month.
Yes, I can see how annoying those fluffies could be but I think we'll forgive it as it's such a beautiful tree otherwise.
ReplyDeleteOh dear…
ReplyDeleteSome of my friends live opposite a wildy bit of water meadow and there've been times this year when we've been driven inside by the willow fluff. It covered everything in a fine mist of seedheads (the acquilegias were unbelievable), so it's just as well none of us reacted badly to it. But mostly gone now - I wish your fluff a speedy departure too.
We too get inundated with Willow Fluff every year- it sometimes looks like it's snowed here in May/ June! :-)
ReplyDeleteNo willow fluff here Anna, but we're having a veritable snowstorm of dandelions at the moment :(
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame that your willow is a problem this month, hopefully by next month it will be behaving itself once more !
ReplyDeleteSo that's what it is... the stuff that covers my veggie garden each year. Rain turns it into a crust that holds fast to any type of netting, a real pain to remove.
ReplyDeleteAnna, take comfort that it isn't Moscow pukh.
ReplyDeleteWe get the best of this - we see the fluff (which is very pretty) without having to breathe it in or clear it up.
ReplyDeleteWill be interesting to find out what the orange bits are. That's one element of the fun - noticing things which are there every year without us realising . . . and new things which weren't ever there before but are now . . . and working out which are which.
Thanks for the link to the pukh article -- my tree is about to produce a bunch of her own!
ReplyDeleteWillow fluff! A mystery solved! The local leisure centre car park was covered in fluff a couple of weeks ago which I assumed was vegetative but I didn't know its source - so that's something I have learned. Look forward to hearing how you get on with your aerobics.... ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your kind comments. We are slowly emerging from a sea of fluff. It's now safe to open our mouths when we are outside :)
ReplyDeleteOh a willow - love it! Just found the links for all the trees - glad to see that the tree year continues! : )
ReplyDeleteWelcome and thanks for your comment Kif :)
Delete