If you wait long enough, you will find the answer!

Back at the end of August I asked if anyone knew the name of this tree. It was the shape that confused me.

Well I don’t like to be beaten so I kept digging! Eventually I discovered that The Landscape Centre at Donegore had the contract for the IKEA site. I phoned and a very nice gentleman informed me that the trees that so fascinated me were Pollarded Salix Alba.

Salix Alba or white Willow is common in the UK. They are fond of wet ground and often flank rivers and streams. The tree above was pollarded (cut off at just above head height) several times to give a rounded shape.

White willow is a traditional basket-making material and was also woven for sheep hurdles. Cricket bats are made from a cultivated derivative of the white willow.

So now you know!