Like many of you, every year I eagerly await those first signs of spring. Among them, the furry catkins of pussy willows.
Recently, my gardeners cut bunches of pussy willows from a grove I planted along the wetlands behind my main greenhouse. These deciduous shrubs, Salix, naturally grow up to 20-feet tall, or even more if left unpruned. They are very easy to multiply and make wonderful cut arrangements. We always collect a good number of long, straight branches to make large, dramatic displays for my home.
Enjoy these photos.
Pussy willows grow in almost any kind of moist to wet soil near meadows, swamps and streams. And they thrive best in full sun. Around this time every year, my gardeners head down to the pussy willow grove to cut branches for my spring arrangements.
My pussy willows are located in a field behind my greenhouse, where there is lots of room for them to grow and flourish. Willows are known to have invasive roots, so they need to be planted away from septic tanks, sewers, and water lines.
Pussy willow is a common name given to many smaller species of the genus, Salix, when their furry, velvety catkins are young. Salix discolor is the American pussy willow.
Pussy willow trunks can be either single or clustered with flexible branches and branchlets.
Pruning regularly makes the most attractive part of the branches easier to reach when cutting.
These pussy willows have grown so well in this location. They can grow up to 24-inches per year if well maintained.
Pussy willow is common throughout the southern half of Canada and the north-central and northeastern portions of the United States.
Whenever we pick pussy willow branches, my gardeners know to cut the longest, straightest ones – at least four-feet – and filled with catkins.
Some pussy willows have very large, furry catkins.
While other pussy willow varieties have smaller catkins.
Some branches are also interestingly shaped. This unusual willow is Salix udensis ‘Sekka’, or Fantail Willow. It has a unique, flattened form, rich color, and small catkins.
These are Purple Heirloom pussy willows. This unique variety of pussy willow has attractive blonde bark, thin grassy stems, and lots of small dark purple catkins.
Once the best pussy willow branches are cut, they’re gathered and brought to my carport until I make the arrangements. I like to do this in time for Easter.
Pussy willows root so easily that stems of almost any size can simply be stuck into a vase of water, where they will form roots in just a few weeks.
Once the roots form, pussy willows can then be potted into liner pots with moist soil for a few more weeks while their roots develop.
One can also plant cuttings directly into the ground in the spring, where they should eventually root.
Look at all we cut from the grove this year. We placed the branches upright in these empty antique planters gifted to me by Carmine Lupino. Cutting branches for indoor displays is an excellent use of these pussy willow catkins. I will be sure to share photos of these once they are arranged for the holiday.
It's always such a joy when we have babies at the farm growing and thriving. Among the newest residents is a fluffy week-old gosling. It's doing so well - eating, drinking, and enjoying all the sights and sounds of its new surroundings.
As many of you know, I’ve had Pomeranian guard geese for many years. I also have Sebastopol geese, Toulouse geese, Chinese geese, and Brown African geese. Right now, it's breeding season for all the waterfowl. Once an egg is laid, it is placed in a special incubator set-up in my stable feed room. The incubation period for goose eggs varies slightly by breed. Some eggs may start pipping after 28-days, while eggs from larger birds may take up to 35-days. This gosling is the first of several eggs to hatch, and already he is the most popular bird in our brooder.
Enjoy these photos.
The goose eggs are kept in this Brinsea incubator. Several more goose eggs are waiting. Eggs are brought up and placed in the incubator the day they are laid. Here, they will be safe from other birds and closely monitored until they hatch.
Hard to see through the cover, but whenever an egg comes up from the coop, we label it with the kind of egg it is and the date it was placed in the machine, so we can gage approximately when it will hatch.
When it comes close to the end of the incubation period, it is placed in this hatcher from GQF Manufacturing, Inc., where the egg can hatch safely and where goslings and chicks can stay until they are dry and can move into a brooder.
And here is our first gosling. At just a day old, it has already had many, many visitors.
Once hatched, the gosling is moved to a cage in the same room. It will stay here for a few weeks. The cage has plenty of food and lots of fresh water that is changed several times a day.
A few days later, our gosling is walking around very steadily watching all the activity in the room.
It is also making new friends. Here it is with a chick. Our brooder is also home to about a dozen fluffy chicks, but these two are always together.
Helen Peparo is my stable manager, but she also oversees the care of my chickens, peafowl, and geese. She is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about animals.
Here is our gosling resting in the cage next to one of our Silkie chicks. The photo looks a bit red because of the heat lamp in the cage. Very young chicks and goslings need constant monitoring until they are at least a month old. They require an air temperature of 95 degrees during the first week, 90 degrees the second week, and so on – going down by around five degrees per week until they’re ready to transition to the coop.
Here is the heat lamp suspended about a foot and a half above the center of the cage. These babies also have ample feeders and waterers.
Some of my other chicks include these cochins. All the babies are up and about and playing and interacting with each other.
This chick is watching our camera from behind the feeder. They are all very alert and curious.
Our gosling is also growing quickly every day. It has bright, clean eyes – a sign of good health in a bird. This gosling is very energetic and already flapping its wings.
This gosling is also eating very well. It will eat starter food for several weeks. Afterward, it will get a pelleted growing food along with cracked corn and other grains.
Here is my operations manager, Stephanie Lofaro. Her office is just across the cobblestone courtyard. She enjoys checking in on our young residents whenever she can.
And just outside is the goose pen, where 13 adult geese reside. These are two Pomeranian guard geese – always sounding off their “alarms” as soon as visitors arrive.
Here are two Sebastopol geese and two Chinese geese.
From mid-winter to early spring, it’s mating season for the waterfowl. Because geese prefer to mate in water, it is safer to provide them with shallow containers. They seem to like them.
This goose is fondly named “Bear.” Our gosling has marking similar to his.
Here he is checking out who is entering the enclosure….
… perhaps it’s a case of “like father like gosling.” We’ll soon see…
And just like clockwork, this time every year my outdoor grounds crew begins the process of removing all the burlap around the farm, exposing the lush green boxwood that has been covered all winter long.
Every autumn for as long as I’ve been gardening I’ve covered all my boxwood shrubs, various winter-sensitive plants, and outdoor ornamental urns to protect them from the season’s heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures, and damaging winds. Then, every spring when the ground begins to thaw, it’s all removed and stored away. The entire process is a big undertaking; however, knowing my plants are protected in the cold is a great comfort. And seeing all the healthy, intact shrubbery and foliage at the start of a new season is an even greater delight.
Enjoy these photos.
During winter, all the boxwood shrubs and hedges are covered in this natural colored fabric. Fortunately, the weather here has been pretty mild these last couple of weeks – perfect timing to start our burlap removal project.
We remove the burlap once the temperatures are consistently above freezing and before Easter. All of the coverings are custom wrapped and sewn to fit each individual shrub, hedge, or bush. These are the boxwood shrubs and hedges outside my Winter House.
One of the first steps is to remove the wooden strips that help sandwich and secure the burlap.
The strips are collected and stored for next year. We keep all the pieces grouped separately and neatly.
The crew also removes the wooden stakes that hold up the framing. These stakes, which are an inch-and-a-half by an inch-and-a-half, were milled right here at the farm. These wooden stakes are also gathered and stored for later use. It is important to me that nothing is wasted.
All the rolls of burlap must be kept dry when not in use. One of the few downsides to this fabric is that it will start to fray and disintegrate after time, especially if exposed to moisture. Here is one roll of fabric. It may not look it, but this roll is quite heavy.
Here, some of the fabric is removed from the steel piping in front of my Winter House porch. The shrubs look so green.
And here is another section of the parterre. It’s always so nice to see the boxwood once the burlap is removed. For the frames we use the same metal used to make hoop houses – strong industrial steel ground uprights and purlin pipes. These materials not only provide the necessary support frames for the burlap but also accommodate any growth.
These fasteners are called tension purlin brackets. They connect the center piping to the bow sections of the frame. All the purlin brackets and pipes are saved from year to year.
After they are properly dismantled, each piece of framing is carried carefully to the truck and hauled away for storage. These pipes are made from rolled galvanized 16 gauge industrial tubing. The top pieces are 10-foot wide bow sections – these frames will last quite a while, I hope.
I also wrap all my ornamental urns in winter. It is much easier to cover them than to carry them in and and out of storage.
Here is Phurba uncovering the urn, which was also enveloped with protective plastic. The crew has been doing this for years – they have streamlined the process and everyone works swiftly and efficiently.
We use industrial burlap that’s available in giant rolls of 40-inches or 60-inches wide. These covers are used for two or three seasons before being replaced. Here, Moises is rolling up one of the burlap covers, which is still in good condition and will be used again next year.
The sections of burlap are tied with jute twine – we use this natural twine for many projects at the farm.
Phurba labels each roll of burlap indicating what it covers and where. The label will make it easy to identify next fall when the boxwood is covered again.
Once the crew finishes removing the burlap, the materials are loaded onto the truck and taken to the Stable Barn for storage. Taking down the burlap is a much faster process than putting the burlap up, but still time-consuming.
All the greenery was well-preserved under the protective winter coverings.
This low hedge is outside my Winter House servery.
Removing the burlap changes the entire appearance of the area and reveals what we hope for every year – green, healthy boxwood. The lighter hedge seen here is golden barberry.
And all the delicate flowers are popping up everywhere. What a gorgeous time of year.
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