Willows in Cork's hedgerows are functional as well as beautiful

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

I don't  know if it's because I’ve done more walking in my 5ks over the last while than ever before or if they are blooming better than ever but the willows flowering in the hedgerows of County Cork have really grabbed my attention over the last few weeks.

We are used to driving past them at 100km per hour but now that we have the opportunity to walk and to admire them at close quarters, it’s hard not to stop and to just take in their beauty. 

One of the most important flowers in late winter and spring for the bees, they have been brightening up our landscape for the last few weeks.

The most common willow in our hedgerows is Salix caprea or goat willow but all native Irish willows are of benefit to pollinators. 

According to Peter Cuthbert, All Ireland Pollinator Champion, “Salix caprea is hugely important as the yellow male flowers appear first and these are rich in nectar with the female flowers appearing later and these are rich in pollen. 

"Salix caprea cross-pollinates very easily which means that in the wild you can have several hybrids growing flowering at different times which means that a natural stand of willow can have a very long flowering period.”

Salix viminalis is another native form of willow which is in bloom right now, this species preferring damper conditions to caprea which will thrive on drier soils.

Whilst most willows will root very easily from cuttings, taken either during the summer as semi-ripe wood or as hardwood cuttings during the winter. In fact, if you as much as show them some soil they will nearly develop roots. Salix caprea, however, is not so easy from cuttings, preferring to spread via seed.

When you stop to admire the flowers of a willow, which I have been doing quite a lot recently, much to my children’s chagrin, you cannot fail to be struck by the beauty. Such intricacy and detail, as with most parts of the rich tapestry, make it beautiful. It is also important in sustaining life, which is perhaps largely unrecognised by those who drive and walk past it every day.

Prunus spinosa is another which is in full bloom on some roads already and will be on more soon. A really beautiful small tree, growing in the wild all over Ireland.

I remember last year, measuring the time going by during lockdown by watching the trees on my walks. First, they were naked of leaves, then as the energy beneath the soil, combined with rising temperatures and increasing daylight hours, we got to enjoy at close quarters, the magical period of budburst as beautiful, fresh new growth emerged from the stems.

We are now lucky enough to enjoy it and appreciate it once more at close quarters and appreciate it we must, for soon, our enforced restrictions will surely ease and we will be released like dogs out of the traps to locations further afield. 

If we fail now to appreciate and to at least try and understand the importance of our natural world, one thing is for sure, we are destined for more global catastrophes.

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