April Offers Love.
Winter willows are among the first to get up and going in the spring. These purple osir willows are not waiting any longer to send up new shoots from an old branch. The upright shoots produce tight little buds wrapped in fur coats that open into fuzzy, pollen-laced flowers as soon as it gets warm enough.
“Willow in your April gown Delicate and gleaming, Do you mind in years gone by all my dreaming? Spring was like a call to me that I could not answer. I was chained to loneliness, I, the dancer. Willow twinkling in the sun still your leaves and hear me. I can answer spring at last, Love is near me!"
SarahTeasdale
Salix purpurea has a head start on everything else along the trail and is the first to offer essential food to early pollinators such as ground nesting bees and overwintering butterflies - like the gorgeous brown mourning cloak with its wing accents of periwinkle dots and golden edging - when they wake up hungry. Chickadees and early-returning birds are happy about that too because the beautiful insects offer them an timely spring snack - everybody’s happy.
Spring is here, love is near!
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