I hope your holiday seasons were great! Ours were super. We got to enjoy some quality R&R but also do something really creative with willow.

We’re super excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Maker Sphere in Waterbury, VT, to supply them with willows for the

RIVER OF LIGHTS FESTIVAL

The artistry displayed by the participants here is a sight to behold. The snail below was made by a first timer! Take a look at the article here.

This is the first time we’ve been able to put our willow, specifically purpurea ‘Bleu’, in front of a group of weavers and their reaction was simply wonderful. From smooth bark to pliability they were over the moon. It’s taken us a few years to tame the nurseries and their response was both gratifying and galvanizing.

Turns out making lanterns from willow is also a lot of fun, and something we hope to share with you. In the meantime we have a few new pages in our Sali Garden! Let’s start with the

PRIVACY HEDGE (and row) CALCULATOR

Looking to plant a privacy hedge? Use this to help estimate how much you’ll need. This calculator was primarily created to help with hedges but can also be used for your beds…just image the rows aren’t offset! With that comes a brand new page in the Sali Garden called 

Privacy Hedges, Snow and Wind Breaks

So far it’s just the privacy hedge bit but the rest will come soon! We’ve got some general recommendations for both planting pattern and varieties to check out. 

SPRING SHIPPING 2026

We’ll begin our harvest as soon as possible, as is the goal every season. Another goal this season is to provide progress updates to help give you an idea as to which zones are completed/yet to be. This’ll be done on our front page and via newsletter. 

FRIEND OF VERMONT WILLOW NURSERY

Dunbar Gardens 

Early in our journey, I came across Dunbar Gardens. Turns out that at the time they were directing ALL of their orders to Vermont Willow Nursery. Thank you both VERY much. Your generosity has not been forgotten. Be assured that your kindness is very much having a ripple effect.

They’ve got a selection of their favorite weaving willows available during certain times of the year. Please check them out, especially if you’re in Washington!

COMING UP

I was real eager to get that calculator out to you but there are a few other pages I’ll be bringing to our Sali Garden in the coming weeks. Wind Screens! Snow Breaks! Willows for fodder?

Stay safe and warm out there!

’til next time,

Aric

The post Now Begins the Winter of Our Web Content first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

And 2025? How the heck are ya?

It’s been quite a while since I’ve last posted an update…we’re still here and we’re doing better than ever! Let’s see…what have we even been doing all this time? Biggest news is our Quonset-style structure is only missing a few doors but otherwise has proven itself. We had our second appearance at the Vermont Flower Show which was even better than our first. Y’all keep turning out for us – it really means a lot. We’ve met a lot of really inspiring artists and growers. Learned a lot about willow…mainly it’s tolerances!

Don’t forget we ship in November

Big reminder that we ship to hardiness zones 6 and up during our Autumn harvest. A few years ago the hardiness zones changed a little so be sure to know your zone before ordering. Check your zone here. Have no fear…they’ve shown to do just fine if planted in the Fall. Willow seems to be able to overwinter here, an area that sees stretches of -20°F, so maybe we’ll expand to zone 5 in the near future. .

Sometimes shipping expectations can change during the season

Almost always for the better!

Every year we learn new things about willow. We gain more confidence in our practices and your ability. One of those practices is cold storage and shipping things earlier than you might expect. Since willow keeps in the fridge (with proper moisture) we want to get your order to you well before the date of your last frost.

We tried this back in early April and it surprised some folks… reasonably so! They were like:

Which is a totally reasonable reaction!

Newsletter shoutout

Since we’ve got the newsletter working (and you’ve signed up for it) we can easily share updates on our harvest and conditions here. About half of the years I’ve been here so far we’ve had work-stopping blizzards, for instance. Another reason to subscribe is that end-of-season sales will be a thing. The newsletter will be much easier to follow than my front page banners.

Those stoppages are going to become less of an issue anyway because…

The Hangar is nearing completion

Through the efforts of many, as of December 2024, the end walls have been bolted on and the garage doors working smoothly. We’ve moved all of our willow processing to it which has been a HUGE help. The days of packaging structure kits in blizzard conditions on the porch have finally come to an end! The tractor gets to come out of the elements too!

First Arch – The Beginning

The Hangar, as named by my dad, allowed us to begin processing and shipping weeks before any year that’s come before. Up next is sectioning off a space that can be conditioned during the cold months. This year it was the end of February, but we were hampered a bit by a weekend at the…….

…2025 Vermont Flower Show!

Our second year here was even better than the first. Lisa and I expected to sit ourselves down in chairs and stare out as folk scuttled past like we were running a crooked carnival game. Instead, you came with your questions and your anecdotes and it was the most amazing time.  Lisa hosted a discussion on willow to a packed room (I stood off to the side…moral support!) which was our very first speaking engagement. 

We were able to expand our offerings a bit which was a lot of fun. Lisa put together some lovely petite bouquets which are a great way to showcase the individual beauty of a catkin. The Free Cutting Bin ended up being a big hit! Future shows will see even more. Interested in stripped branches for carving? Maybe some wattle fence sections? A Willow Deprivation Chamber? 

There were a few of you who told me that you’ve been following our story. It truly is humbling. I overheard someone say “Oh this is the willow nursery this is why I wanted to come.” I mean wow. My heart grew three times that day. I’m writing these blog posts for YOU. Reach out and say hello! 

 

Willow Artisans and Special Projects

This is going to eventually get it’s own spot on The Sali Garden.

Morris Arboretum – Willow Wander

Magical. A stunning sight and a testament to living willow structures. This was made with 10-12 ft purpurea and miyabeana. It’s really something special.

Susie J Gray – Growing Health By Design

Susie’s willow sheep sculpture at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival has ever been on my mind since I first saw it. She made willow sculpting in to a group activity! Susie is the embodiment of what it is to be a Creative in Vermont. 

Bellcate Academy

We had a visit from Cory and her students one fine day this May. They wanted to try their hand at a willow structure and were met with massive success. Everything – from coppicing to trying not to get distracted by dogs to planting – they did it all. Bask in their reflected glory!

The students make their own dog treats! My dogs and I approve of them.

…and a little more

Meet the Ridge Road Ruff Ridaz

Thanks for reading, have a great Summer!

The post How Is it July? first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

See you on the dark side of St. Albans hill

Our area is incredible for many reasons, and being directly under the path of the solar eclipse is just one more. We have a clear westerly view for miles from our upper nursery and expect to see quite a show.

Happy Winter to you all! Did you even get one this year? This past weekend our area experienced an unprecedented stretch of nearly FIFTY DEGREE temperatures. To put it in perspective we should be hovering somewhere around zero! We’re on track for what may be our…

Earliest shipping season ever? Completely weather dependent!

One of the main reasons we don’t harvest during the Winter here is that the stools are buried under ice and snow. Digging through it with our hands is too tough, and shovels aren’t nimble enough to do the job. As always, we must prioritize the health of our willows over all else.

We’re on track to begin our Spring 2024 shipping season on the first week of March, possibly sooner. My nephew’s birthday is the 2nd and we have to take a couple days to travel… Where was I? Oh yes – while we may have our earliest shipping season start EVER, we’re highly subject to late-Winter blizzards and other delays. Barring those, with our expanded Fall shipping and increased workforce we expect the season to conclude quicker than ever. We see how warm everyone is!

As always, during this time of year your orders are my highest priority – sans nieces/nephews. While you were placing your order you may have wondered…

Where are all the rods and such?

We stimulate willow growth by coppicing. Deer stimulate willow growth by chewing on it. Boy howdy, the deer and moose are really trying to help us this year. Through deer, dogs, snow, grass, mowers – our fences have finally called it quits on us and animals have gotten in to nibble on things. I even wrote a song about it that I hope Weird Al covers.

It’s really great that we now get to help our local herbivores but it comes at the expense of rod tips. As you may know from A Willow’s Place, they prefer the newest, most tender growth. The rods will still work just fine for propagation but are pretty unappealing visually. We also have a lot of stock that’s simply taking a break for the season and need propagation.

On the other hand, the prices of many of our purpurea cuttings are reduced! We even have a new collection that’s the absolute lowest price we’ve ever offered. Also, for the first time we’re including gracilystyla ‘Mt Aso’ in a collection!

Every year our shipping season has gone more smoothly than the one before it, which is great because of the other…

Ongoing nursery projects

Building Wrap-up: If you’re following us on our (little used, I know, we’re working on it!) instagram page, you may have seen our huge steel building that’s going up. It’s quite the endeavor but like all such things once you get in to the groove it becomes easier. Big thank to Glen for helping us in the first stages and Lisa’s family for helping us during the crunch before the snow set in. It’s to become the new Vermont Willow Nursery HQ!

New Nursery: We have many different willows, but not many of all of them. This Spring we’ll be breaking ground on a third nursery with a heavy focus on natives. Our two existing nurseries are coppiced – for this third we’ll try our hand at pollards.

Potted Willows for Sale: Potted willows are something a lot of folks reach out for. We have a bunch of 5-6 year specimen trees that we’ll be potting this year. Maybe you’ll see them at the Gardner’s in Williston next year?

The elephence in the room: Can’t forget the fence either! As we work on our social medias we hope to record some willow structure and fence building. In the mean time, take a look at a few photos of this…

Stunning tunnel at a park in Cleveland

This purpurea tunnel was planted in 2021. The folks who installed it did the most amazing job and should be immensely proud of themselves. Behold!

Still with me? Guess we should get to…

Closing

How else to say it? We’ve been interviewed by Margaret Roach of the New York Times! Will I sound like a goofball? Probably, doesn’t matter! Will we have a framed article with our name in it in the New York frickin’ Times? YUP! So exciting!

Did I hear someone say end-of-season-cutting-clearance? More to come!

Aric

The post Catkins burst, whisper in your ear first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

Our booth at the 2023 Vermont Flower Show was a smashing success. The interest that was shown was truly humbling, and completely unexpected. We were so very happy to share everything we’ve learned and hope to do this again. Went straight from the flower show to the…

Spring 2023 shipping! This Spring season was a tough one. Unfortunately the help we had lined up were unable to make it and we were a bit understaffed, thus extended our shipping season by about two weeks. These things happen sometimes but thank you very much for your understanding. The gardening community is amazing and I appreciate you. Please know that my sole focus during the shipping seasons is to get your order to you as fast as possible. For those affected, know that we’ve already got plans to improve. Without further ado…

Further expansion of the Fall shipping season! We’re getting so confident in Fall planting that we’re expanding it to include hardiness zone 6. This will allow us to serve the majority of the country in the Fall which will greatly reduce the turnaround for Spring orders. Ourselves, we will be planting this Fall and we’re in zone 4a. We sort of have to anyway, there’s zero time for us to plant in the Spring! That works for us, since we have to focus on getting a garden together what with these grocery prices grumble inflation grumble. We just have to get to it before it gets too cold and everything gets covered in snow. Speaking of the cold…

Our cold storage confidence is also growing. The fridge is great. Cold storage works. No way around it. There’s definitely a “right way” to do it and we’re close to that. Cuttings from way back in February came out looking exactly as they went in and started producing roots when I accidentally left them sitting out. We expect to incorporate this in to our Fall season.

Grumble inflation grumble. I’d say about 100% of you live in our society and know that everything is just so stinkin’ expensive, and getting moreso. I’ve been kicking this particular can down the road but we’re looking at a teensy raise in our pricing to offset this. The prices here at the nursery have been the same since (I believe) 2019. We aren’t doing it just yet, but just be aware.

Website improvements. Work on the site is ever ongoing! Your feedback and suggestions on it are very welcome. Upcoming improvements are a more comprehensive shipping info page and filling out The Salix Garden.

A very special thanks to Lino Larke and the wonderful folks whom accompanied him to help us this Spring. They coppiced large swathes of the nursery that were in desperate need of rejuvenation. The work they did is greatly appreciated. Their personal endeavors are absolutely worth spotlighting and you can expect to learn more about them in the near future.

The post You’ve Got the (willow) Touch, You’ve Got the (willow) Power! first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

I’d like to begin with some nursery news. We’re delighted to announce that we’ll be at the 2023 Vermont Flower Show! Our focus will be on willow’s use as cut stems in floral arrangements. We’ll have a selection of cut stems, rods, and live cuttings available. The show is March 3-5 so stop by and say hello! I’ve done similar events during my time at the USGS and they’re a lot of fun! We hope that this is just the first of many!

Even bigger news is that we’re officially reopening for Canadian orders! Sure, it involves us driving the orders to Canada ourselves, but we’re glad to finally be able to make it happen. Thank you to all of our northern neighbors who have expressed interest in willows and for your patience while we figure it out.

Big, but not as big: swag! We’ve ordered a small run of tshirts and sweatshirts with our logo and name on them. These will be high quality and printed at a business local to us and will be coming in a few weeks. On a personal note this is something I’m really excited to bring out. Most of my own shirts come from small businesses I’ve been to: restaurants, farms, community events, stuff like that. To have my own shirt is really kind of amazing to me. It’s probably not the most stunning achievement but I’m very proud here. We’ll expand our selection if the interest is there, so let me know what you think!

Gift cards are coming down the pipe! It’s finally happening! We have, like, the lamest gift giving system. A simple note. It’s what we had available to us at the time but lame! Still working on the final form of them, however, but they’re on the way.

This Spring’s harvest start date is still up in the air. So far Winter here has been extremely mild. I don’t think the temperature has dipped below zero once yet. According to my neighbors this is a prelude to heavy late winter storms, which would delay the start. If we get lucky and the temperatures remain relatively mild we’ll begin as soon as the nurseries become accessible. If that means we can start in early March we will. Hiking up and down the hills to get to them can be tough on a good day…snow cover makes it really tough.

That’s the future. I’ll switch gears here and talk a little about the past. Happy to report that this previous Autumn’s shipping season went exceedingly well! Expanding it to include hardiness zones 7a and b was a success, and we even snuck a few from 6 in there. I expect that this coming Autumn we’ll hold the course and next year we may expand it officially to include 6a and b.

I’ll wrap this up with a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who supports us. The nursery exists on word-of-mouth and the number of people who reach us by referral is truly humbling. Really, I mean that. We run this whole endeavor out of our home, so your support of the nursery directly goes to keeping our lights on, and our house heated so our dog Pema (and us!) don’t freeze. I suppose what I’m saying is we’re actual humans here – not a conglomerate or faceless corporation – and we really do appreciate you.

Ok yea that sounds really corny reading it out loud.

-Aric

The post To Spring 2023finity…and Beyond! first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

We’ve got an exciting announcement! For the first time (I think…) the nursery is going to include USDA hardiness zones 7a and 7b in the Autumn harvest! We’ve seen a few studies and have heard numerous anecdotes that has us convinced. I’ll share them on The Sali Garden as soon as I can. We hope to expand your possibilities and to ultimately get your orders to you faster! Perhaps in the future we can start to serve 6!

You can check your zone on our Shipping Info page or on the USDA’s page here.

As the nurseries regrow I’ll be updating our inventory pages. I don’t want to count our willows before they hatch and all that so our inventory counts are conservative. Everything is growing back fabulously, however, so check back frequently.

Allow me to thank everyone who ordered last year! We got our Spring harvest off on a bit of a rough start, but once we found our stride things went much more smoothly. We also implemented new systems that really help us organize behind-the-scenes. I’ll discuss the workings of the nursery a little bit more in our newsletters. For anyone with questions regarding their order: please don’t hesitate to email me!

A few special thank-yous: Mia, Lisa’s mom, came and practically ran the kitchen during our Spring harvest during a time when our dishwasher was broken, and also put some long hours in doing nursery work. Jenna, our neighbor, answered the call for assistance and was able to go with the flow as we figured things out. Thanks a lot, y’all

We’ve got many more ideas for the future! Stay tuned!

-Aric

The post Party like it’s Willow Year 2023 first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

It looks like we’re going to survive our first Vermont winter! Our heat stayed…mostly on! We’re getting more and more days above 0°F. We’re even expecting high 40s tomorrow.

It’s time to focus on the upcoming harvest. I wanted to hit a few points to keep you all in the loop:

Spring 2022 Harvest

Willows are best coppiced before they exit dormancy, and when we can physically access our snowbound nurseries. Here’s a link to tips on how to care for your willow. With the warming weather we’re looking at beginning our harvest next month – in March instead of the typical mid-April (see announcement below). Assuming all things work out as planned.

This year we’re looking to accept new orders right up until the end of the shipping season of May 15th.

Creating an Account

I strongly encourage you to create an account with us. I get it…who wants to create another profile on another website? Certainly not me. Now that I’ve got a little experience on the back end of a website I can understand the reasoning. This function will help us and you track what you’ve ordered easier.

Please note – we will NEVER under ANY circumstances share your information.

Website Updates

We asked for your feedback and we got it. We’re heeding your advice and working through adding many of your suggestions. We’ve added drop-down boxes to better describe our products. Lisa made our entire selection available in list-form, with links to each individual page. Expect to see a page that details how willows benefit the modern world very shortly. Our snapshot of each variety, the Willows-At-A-Glance, are mostly filled out and I’m adding more daily.

We understand how important Michael’s descriptions were and he is working to publish a website containing all of the botanical information with photos soon. He was able to develop a personal relationship with each willow over time, something we are doing now and will inform you of as we get to know our willow neighbors.

We really do appreciate the feedback and we’re always open to more, so keep ’em coming!

Newsletter

We’re developing a newsletter! You can opt-in to it when you create an account. Personally, Lisa and I do not use social media; we do not like the effect it has on society. We will continue to use these platforms sparingly and as a means for you to find us.

climbs down from soapbox

That said, we will be using the newsletter, and to a lesser extent these blog posts, as our primary means of updating everyone on the advances in the world of willow and the nursery in general.

Big Changes for the Fall Shipping Season?

We have pretty compelling evidence that the optimal planting time for most zones in the US is in the Fall. We’ll be exploring the possibility of expanding the fall shipping season to include zones 7a and 7b!

We may revisit one or all of these decisions if needed – Mother Nature has a proven track record of turning our plans on their head.

Looking for Seasonal Help!

A big part of our plan is bringing on help. This year is a big coppicing year for the nursery. In addition to coppicing, we plan on establishing a third nursery. In the past, Michael would trade material for labor, something we hope to continue. We’ll be busy. If you’re interested in participating I’d love to hear from you. Send an email to contactus@vermontwillownursery.com and let us know your availability and varieties you’re after.

The post Looking Towards Spring first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

We have officially concluded our Fall 2021 shipping season…just in time for the Vermont Winter to begin! We must wait for dormancy before we can harvest and this year it didn’t happen until the third week. A possible omen for the future?

This season saw a few advancements in our techniques and methods. I don’t want to speak too soon, but I simply can’t hide my excitement: we managed to ship 15 ft rods! While it was quite a lot of work, it IS possible. Another milestone: our willows have been sent to all 50 states!

Autumn at the nursery is really quite a sight. I took a few photos, not nearly enough, of the transitioning seasons and the effect it has on our willows. One of the big surprises for me was how beautiful Aurea’s foliage is. We have many colorful stemmed willows, but few have the shockingly bright leaves of Aurea. In the nursery it sticks out like a, well, bright yellow thumb amongst the green. Now that our website is operational I can focus on bringing you both fun and informative content, and to spotlight lesser-known willows such as Aurea.

Speaking of the website, we’re working on ironing out any transition kinks. We had to acquire new everythings: certificates, rankings, emails, etc. I thank you for your patience while we figured all of that out. If you’ve got an undelivered email do resend it. We hope to make use of other functions of the website as we gain familiarity with the platform such as newsletters with updates about harvests and plugins that let you calculate your material needs.

As we enter the depths of winter I will be working diligently to fill out our product pages. I’ll be here to answer any questions you might have…just send an email! I greatly welcome any comments or suggestions for the site as well.

Enjoy your holidays!

I hear folks on the internet like animal photos…here’s one of Porkins exploring the upper nursery, drinking in the view.

The post Fall 2021 harvest…great success! first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.

You may have noticed some changes. Our site is still very much a work in progress, so do pardon all the dust and unsanded edges. I’ll be filling out product pages, adding information, and generally streamlining things. Check back often to see what’s new, and thank you for visiting!

We’re very proud of our new logo!

All glory to April B. Markley for her wonderful talent and beautiful eye.

Thank you!

The post Welcome to Our New Website first appeared on Vermont Willow Nursery.