Varieties Grown
At Barfad Willow I currently grow seventeen different varieties.
Dark Dicks (Salix purpurea): This is one of my most popular basket making varieties. It is a very fine willow with dark brown-purple-red rods, which dry to a deep purplish brown. Very suitable for beginners.
Green Dicks (Salix purpurea): A fine rod with a pale green stem which changes to a whitish green in the winter. It dries to a pale green. Green Dick is another popular basket making willow and is good for beginners.
Dicky Meadows (Salix purpurea): A waxy, slender, willow, a little more stout that the Dicks'. Dry rods vary between a dark to a lighter brown, sometimes it varies within the stem, and sometimes it's quite even. The lighter stems have tiny dark buds which makes it very attractive. The butt ends can be pretty bendy, especially on the larger rods.
Packing Twine (Salix purpurea): A strong basket making willow with chocolatey brown buds. It tends to dry almost black near the butt ends grading into a variety of mottled olive greens towards the tips. Sometimes the tips develop a gentle reddish tinge. Packing Twine is a tough willow which will require extra soaking.
Irish Brittany Green (Salix purpurea): Slender green stems make Brittany Green another popular basket willow. It produces lots of 6-8ft rods that can be wavy - unlike their 'blue' counterpart.
Polish Blue: A beautiful, tall, straight and slender basket willow with blue/black butts and gorgeous, smoky grey tips. I am in the process of establishing Polish Blue so only small amounts occassionally available.
Brittany Blue (Salix purpurea x Salix daphnoides): Beautiful slender stems with a make this a very popular willow for basketry. Once dry it develops a bluish hue which makes it quite distinctive.
Continental Purple (Salix daphnoides): A stunning deep purple willow which develops a white bloom when dry. It's quite stout and therefore not so popular for basket making - but I can't resist growing it because it is such an incredible colour.
Flanders Red (Salix alba vitellina x fragilis): The waxy rods of Flanders Red are green with a red tinge that dry to a rich orange brown. It is quite stout so although suitable for basket making it is mainly used for larger baskets or for beautiful bands of distinctive colour.
Scarlet Willow (Salix alba chermisina): Chermesina produce remarkably rich orange-red rods which are very popular for their colour. It's hard to grow, produces many small side shoots and unfortunately the deer love to gobble it all up. If I ever manage to produce any for sale it is therefore sold at a premium price!
Chinese (Salix miyabeana): A waxy green stemmed willow which turns orangey-red towards the tips. It can be wavy rather than dead straight. It is fast growing and vigorous. Very popular for living willow structures, soil stabilization and waste filtration.
Light Harrisons: I seem to have two varieties of Harrisons. Apparantly this is the true variety. It is lighter than the other, with stout, straight waxy stems that dry to a pale honey colour. Light Harrisons is very popular for making large baskets - and also, unfortunately, for dinner parties among the local deer which means I only have small amounts available.
Dark Harrisons: This willow is a deep, peaty purply-brown with straight, stout stems.
Nicholsonni: This is a beautiful slender green willow. I haven't got much of this for sale at the moment - as it is new to Barfad Willow.
Carl Jenson: This is also a beautiful slender willow with pale yellow/green stems and a hint of muted orange. Again this willow is new to Barfad so there isn't much of it available as yet.
Pommert Digpil: This is a deep reddish brown willow. It is my newest variety, so I am yet to find out what it's really like. Especially as the deer like it greatly and ate all the growth from my new pegs this year!
Vitellina (Salix alba vitellina): A beautiful golden stemmed willow that dries chocolatey brown or sometimes almost black. It's quite stout. I have recently dug up my 25 year-old plants and planted some new pegs - so it is currently unavailable.
