The Willow and the Honeysuckle

You may recall a previous post about the weeping willow tree and the very fragrant unusual honeysuckle that overgrew, nay, overwhelmed it. During the winter gales the old trunk gave way and toppled it until…. In a fit of pique I decided to take the chain saw to it and ground levelled it all.

Slightly too enthusiastically and perhaps without thinking it through, but we had envisaged planting a tree in memory of Rosie the rescue greyhound. Once I had cleared the ground I realised the work necessary to dig out the rootball, and the network of intertwined roots of both constituents. Start the easy job first, so I dug out the honeysuckle roots and runners, but delayed pulling out the willow roots citing poor weather, and a bone in my foot.

Never one to admit defeat, but more than willing on occasion to admit to a tactical error, a back up plan was urgently needed. Enter the finger post telling a curious passer-by the distance to Newbridge found in a local wood yard that replaces council signs, this gave us a direction of travel. Imitation fencing, a style, throw down some duplicitous grass seed – duplicitous because on the box it says “germination guaranteed – a lawn in ten days”, the second box deployed a month later said it as well. Job done, sit back and wait.

Well…. The willow trunk sprouted into a burgeoning butterfly liking buddleia, the unusually attractive honeysuckle fragrance was not lost, and both are nicely making their presence felt against the folly. The meadow is taking over the bare spots, thus avoiding a third box of guaranteed lawn seed.