The willow, the tree that soothes the fevers of men

Tree of the marshes, of the rivers, the Willow soothes the fevers of the men, provides a soft wood, the invaluable osiers of the basket makers. Its vitality, its short life span, a man's life, its power of multiplication, surround it with legends often forgotten.

The tree of diversity

More than thirty species of willow live in France, the number of their hybrids is... incalculable. They live side by side, interbreed, their characteristics are mixed in an abundant diversity, a real headache for botanists. Some of them draw our attention more than others, for their size, their regular presence, their usefulness, the elegance of their silhouette. The White Willow, Salix alba, the Fragile Willow, Salix fragilis and their hybrid Salix x rubens, mark the banks of rivers, ponds, marshes, with their tall silhouettes. The Marchault Willow, Salix caprea, less greedy for water, can be found in forests, and in parks the Weeping Willow and its hybrids will be of the most beautiful effect.

Medicinal properties

Willows in their great diversity show common medicinal properties, known and used by men for thousands of years. As swamp trees, they were used to treat fevers, thanks to their febrifuge character. The presence of salicylic acid in their bark made them compared to cinchona. Bark also astringent, tonic, antirheumatic, febrifuge, antiseptic, vulnary... The flowers, male and female catkins, each installed on its own tree, are antispasmodic and sedative, as are the leaves, although they are less effective. How not to mention also its tonic effects of the digestive system, anti-diarrhea. The white willow was certainly the most used of all the willows in our regions.

Uses of willows

Leaves, bark, flowers, wood, everything in the Willow is used. Its early catkins offer bees a welcome source of food at the end of winter. The same catkins are so decorative that they are used in the composition of seasonal bouquets. The mature seeds, soft and silky, could be used as cotton when it was missing. The leaves and small branches are used as fodder for horses, goats and sheep.... The bark, known for tanning, will provide the gardener with willow water, cut into pieces, soaked, it will produce a natural cutting hormone. A dyeing tree, the Willow, depending on the recipe, will express itself in red, brown, black. Its wood shows a great diversity of uses.

A soft wood

Not very famous as a fuel, the Willow is nevertheless appreciated by bakers, for its bright flame, at high temperatures. Its charcoal was used to make gunpowder. Its homogeneous, light, soft wood is light, yellowish, sometimes turning pinkish. Although it does not last, it works well and is used in many fields.

Rafters, rods, poles, stakes, packaging, sieves, light clogs, toys, barrel hoops... And even cricket bats made with white willow, so famous that it is called "cricket willow". Its properties also see it used for the manufacture of prostheses.

Wicker

Basketry is supplied by willows, for their long, straight and solid branches. Ties for the garden, for trellising vines, baskets, fish traps, cages... Everything can be made of wicker. Among the most used, we find the white willow or white wicker, cultivated in pollard, whose form 'Vitellina' is appreciated for its yellow, orange branches. The fragile willow, Salix fragilis, which only breaks at the joints, is part of the list, without dethroning the basket maker's willow, Salix viminalis. Don't forget the purple willow, Salix purpurea, or the three-stamens willow, Salix triandra. The braided strips often came from the Marsault Willow.

Some stories

In many countries, the Willow is a symbol of immortality, vitality and protection. Its branches are said to repel unwanted spirits. But it can also represent death, evil powers with witches populating its foliage...

Female deities would inhabit the willows, bringing fertility and abundant harvests to collect in its braided branches.

The melancholic would appreciate its shade.

The tomb of Napoleon I is always represented with a Weeping Willow.

Familiar with parks for its elegance, the Willow deserves to be rediscovered and to find a place at the edge of ponds, in hedges, at the edge of gardens.

The lime tree, a medicinal and useful tree

Men and trees have been telling stories since prehistoric times. The linden tree and its perfumed flowers, its bark for ropes, its wood for infusion, brings some nice pages to it. Medicinal, utilitarian, it was once linked to the protective forces of nature.

A familiar tree

Lime trees are part of our daily lives. Village squares, schoolyards, parks, lines of trees, we come across them everywhere. European species, the large-leaf lime tree, Tilia platyphyllos, and the small-leaf lime tree, Tilia cordata, have hybridized and the intermediate lime tree, Tilia vulgaris or intermedia, is found alongside its cousins. Trees of the revolution, they were planted in village squares in 1792, but already in the 16th century Sully recommended their use. Thus, many lime trees exceed four centuries. It is estimated that the oldest ones are around 1000 years old...

Close to human settlements, ruins too, a lime tree in the forest often announces an old farm, a lost hamlet, this tree has brought a lot to man, by its medicinal properties, its soft wood, its strong links.

Lime tree recipes

At the end of spring, for St. John's Day, the inflorescences of lime bloom. Then begins the harvest of the flowers, if possible without the bracts, for infusions with the sweetest possible scent. The linden tea has a solid reputation, established by its digestive and soothing virtues. Dried in a ventilated place, avoiding direct sunlight, the flowers can be kept in bags and can occasionally be used to flavour a salad. Fresh, put to macerate in the sun in water with sugar, lemon, vinegar, they will compose a pleasant sparkling drink, resembling the elderberry lemonade. In mid-summer, the unharvested flowers will give fruits with edible seeds. Roasted, they could be used as a coffee substitute.

The lime leaves were used during the last world war, dried and crushed they supplemented the flours coming to miss, with a contribution in proteins not negligible. Currently, young leaves are harvested to mix them with mixed salads, their acidic taste being more or less appreciated.

Medicinal properties

Used in tea at the end of meals for its digestive properties, for cases of influenza, the linden shows antispamodic, antisclerotic, diuretic and sudorific properties. It would also play a role in the fluidification of blood, in the light nervous disorders. The variability of the active substances would be notable according to the lime trees and their places of culture.

Any use of medicinal plants requires prudence, it is advisable for the lime tree, as for any other plant, to find some wise advice for any medicinal cure. Less known, the sapwood, peripheral wood under the bark, sees its use in progression. Good diuretic, it is a hepato-biliary and urinary drainer, used among others in arthritis, migraine states... The herbalists propose it in the form of chips to be used in decoction.

Uses of lime

The smell of the linden flower attracted perfumers very early on. They extracted farnesol from it, which is also present in orange and acacia essential oils. It allows to underline the odors of floral perfumes.

As for wood, lime is rather soft and light, it is not resistant to bad weather. Its main qualities, homogeneity, stability after drying, make it a wood appreciated by turners and sculptors. Clogs, shoe heels, pencils, piano keys, kitchen utensils, toys, boxes... The range of interior uses is wide.

The bark of lime, called lime, brings unexpected qualities, fibrous and resistant it was used for a long time in the manufacture of links and ropes known for their solidity. Russia and Scandinavia also used it for basketry, mats, fishing nets and sandals. These practices, now forgotten, are remembered when we find dead lime trees with decaying wood but with bark that has disintegrated into fibers that are still tenacious and resistant.

For the artist writer, designer, the lime charcoal will offer an unequalled fineness, also used for the powder, and therapeutic use.

Some stories...

Heart-shaped leaves, sweet smell, soothing virtues, soft shadow, reassuring presence... The lime tree evokes love, fidelity, benevolent welcome, but also dance and joy.

Spirits and sorcerers inhabit this beneficial tree with multiple properties, it is advisable to treat them with respect to work its wood or its bark.

The shade of the lime tree is a beautiful shade to install a bench, to taste an herbal tea, and to tell stories about plants, where ancient and contemporary ethnobotany meet.

The oaks with small development

There are 600 varieties of oaks in the world (130 are cultivated in the nursery).

The originality of this genus is its diversity: there are oaks with willow leaves, oaks with chestnut leaves, ... Some of them have a large development; they will live 500 years, 1000 years and can reach 40 meters high. Others are of small development. With a long life expectancy of 300 to 400 years, the smallest of these oaks will reach 2.50 m and the largest 5-6 m; they are ideal for small gardens.

The Quercus bivoniana, the olive leaf oak. It can reach 8 to 12 meters depending on the soil and climate. It is a very useful oak to make a visual screen (hedge) in case of opposite because, on the one hand, it has an evergreen foliage (its thinness gives it an air of olive leaf) and, on the other hand, it can be led in vines (not only in high-stem), by keeping the branches at the base of the trunk. In this configuration, the plantation is made every 2,50 m between feet, and a pruning is made every year so that the trees are very well furnished.

It is possible to choose its rootstock according to the soil that will receive it: calcareous, wet or dry.

Its acorn is very decorative: larger than that of the common oak, its cup looks like a flower with many petals.

Quercus alba 'Longigemma', an American white oak. It is an oak that can reach a height of 15 to 20 m. In spring its young shoots are reddish pink, and turn green during the summer. In the fall, the foliage takes on beautiful autumn colors, wine lees. The leaves dry but remain in the tree (marcescent tree). It is also a grafted tree that can adapt to many types of land.

Note: not all oaks produce acorns, so grafting is used as a method of reproduction.

Ornamental bark dogwoods

They brighten up the winter with their bright or flamboyant stems. The dogwoods with remarkable bark are very graphic subjects, especially on a white snowy coat.

Very easy to grow and hardy, they will be your charming asset in the garden during the bad season.

Decorative bark dogwoods

Decorative bark dogwoods are very valuable in the garden in winter because they unfurl their red or orange stems throughout the bad season, brightening up the decor and contrasting with the surrounding greyness. They can be used as decorative hedges, borders, beds, or even as an isolated subject.

The white dogwood (Cornus alba) is a shrub native to Siberia, China and Korea that can reach up to 3 m in height and spread. Its upright habit is very graphic especially when the young shoots without leaves turn red/orange in winter. The variety 'Sibirica' is particularly interesting for its foliage that turns purple in autumn and for its bright red stems.

Kesselringii' has almost black, slightly purple shoots.

Those who like variegated foliage will be interested in the varieties 'Elegantissima' with grey/green leaves edged with white or 'Gouchaultii' with leaves edged with yellow and shaded with pink. On these cultivars, the bark remains very ornamental with a beautiful red color.

The female dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) is a shrub native to Europe with an upright and bushy habit.  It does not exceed 3m in height for 2,5m of spread. The typical species has green stems turning red in autumn if the plant is exposed to the sun, otherwise the stems remain green. The variety 'Winter Flame' is very ornamental with its orange-yellow stems, very bright in the garden in winter. This deciduous shrub is particularly beautiful in autumn when its leaves turn a blazing red.

The dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) is a shrub with a wide spread (4m) thanks to its suckering runners. Its dark red shoots are sumptuous in winter. The variety 'Flaviramea' offers the spectacle of its bright green to yellowish stems for a very bright effect in the garden.

Maintenance of decorative bark dogwoods

Decorative bark dogwoods become much brighter in full sun. Always plant them with good exposure. Not very difficult, these dogwoods accept most soils.

The young shoots being much more colorful than the old ones, the species cultivated for the color of their bark should be pruned each year in spring just before bud break. With sharp pruning shears, cut each stem flush with the ground above the second bud from the base. This will ensure that the young shoots are brightly colored in winter.

Japanese maples

The diversity of Japanese maples

The diversity of Japanese maples is reflected in the variety of leaf shapes, more or less cut (such as the Dissectum variety whose finely serrated leaves are very light) and changing colors (green, yellow, orange, red), different forms, upright, globe-shaped, or even drooping, and the variability of sizes: there are varieties of Japanese maple dwarfing that do not exceed 1 to 1.20 meters while others climb to 4, 5 or 6 meters high. But in any case, the Japanese maple remains a small tree.

Some remarkable varieties of Japanese maple

The maple Acer palmatum 'Aureum' is one of the most beautiful Japanese maples. Its foliage can have 4 different colors at the same time (normally pale lemon yellow in early spring, light green in summer and reddish orange in autumn).

Acer palmatum 'Asahi zuru' has a very original variegation pattern: it appears irregularly on the leaves, sometimes white, sometimes green.

Use of the Japanese maple in the garden

Japanese maples are perfect as isolated specimens but can be planted in groups to form a shrubbery, playing on different sizes and shapes: Acer palmatum Dissectum in the shape of a globe, Acer palmatum 'Orange Dream' with a bushy habit, Acer palmatum 'Senkaki' with bright red bark in autumn and winter...

We can also vary the colors by integrating varieties with red, yellow or variegated leaves.

Growing conditions of the Japanese maple

Japanese maples are always outdoor plants. Most of them appreciate a half-shaded or even shaded exposure - a maple planted in full sun will not look good - and sheltered from the wind.

They prefer acidic and fresh soils: in calcareous soils, bring them heather soil, then mulch them with, for example, bark which, in addition to preserving the freshness of the soil, contributes to its acidity.

Once planted in good conditions, Japanese maples develop without any worries.

Deciduous magnolias

Precious ornamental shrubs, magnolias are covered with splendid flowers from spring. Deciduous species are often much hardier than evergreens. Install them in your garden, you won't regret it!

Growing deciduous magnolias

Originally from Asia or North America, magnolias grow spontaneously in thickets or forests, not far from waterways. They therefore appreciate half-shade and a soil with an acidic tendency that remains cool in summer, although some species tolerate neutral soil. Very hardy, the majority of the varieties can be planted in all gardens without fear of frost.

Planting

The best time to plant your magnolia is in early fall, when the soil is still warm and the rains are abundant. This will give the root system time to form before the summer heat.

• Choose a location in partial shade and away from prevailing winds.
• Dig a hole that is wider than it is deep because roots tend to spread out on the surface, so the soil should be well loosened at this level.
• Add a good amount of decomposed compost to the soil removed from the hole and sand if it is compact and retains moisture. Magnolias like well-drained soil.
• Pour a bed of compost into the bottom of the hole and add a handful of ground horn powder.
• Remove your magnolia tree, taking care not to injure the roots. If necessary, cut out the container.
• Place the roots flat in the hole.
• Fill in the hole with the prepared mixture, packing the soil well around the trunk. The trunk should remain vertical.
• Make a basin to retain water at the foot of the shrub.
• Water very abundantly.

Maintenance

Remember to water recently planted trees often, even during the bad season if it does not rain. In summer, be careful! The soil should never dry out completely between waterings.

In autumn, spread a good layer of straw at the foot of young plants to protect them.

Remarkable species and varieties

The species with 'goblet' flowers (resembling tulips) are very popular in gardens. The many cultivars of Magnolia x soulangeana range from pure white with 'Alba superba' to very dark purple pink with 'Burgundy'.

Magnolia x liliflora 'Nigra' is a stunning cultivar with dark purple blooms.

Magnolia kobus, tolerates neutral to slightly alkaline soils, the white/cream flowers are sometimes tinged with pink at the base.

On the side of the magnolias with star flowers, we count the numerous varieties of Magnolia stellata of which 'Centennial' pure white, or 'Gold Star' with the amazing yellow. Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel' blooms in pale lilac starry clouds of the most beautiful effect.