Willow Basketry - Joe Hogan, Ireland

I have always loved to do research for our willow pages. I usually either discover some new use(s) for willows or a new website showing baskets or sculpture. Most of the time the websites are in the UK or Ireland and Joe Hogan's is no exception. He makes willow baskets, using the natural colours of willow stems to add wonderful interest to a tradional basket: 

He also gets real creative with his contemporary baskets, even using the catkins. I can only guess that he wove the basket just before the catkins came out. One thing people may not realize is that the catkins, if not rubbed off, should remain on the branches for years.

Visit his website to see many more examples of his beautiful work: www.joehoganbaskets.com/  

Alopecurus pratensis 'Aureovariegatus' - Golden Foxtail Grass

Yesterday I was scouring my discs and hard-drive for pics that Marjorie Harris wants to accompany an article for the May issue of Chatelaine Magazine. I used to have them, but not anymore. At least something good resulted in that I found many pictures that I think people would like to see. But the website is sort of out of room or some pics need explanation, so this is where a blog works better than a website.

This is a picture I found. These gorgeous Alopecurus pratensis 'Aureovariegatus' are in a bed next to the City Hall in Grand Forks, BC. They are in full sun so they are a bright gold. If they were in partial shade they would be more lime-green in colour.

Welcome!

It occurred to me today that a blog would be a good way to post some more pictures. The website gets so much traffic that we are often over our bandwidth and some pictures are pretty good, but not quite good enough to use on the website so I figured I could post them here. This also allows for a bit of commentary in regards to a picture, which is not as well-suited to a website.

If you are thinking that the picture in the header is of Calamagrostis Karl Foerster, I am afraid that you guessed wrong. It is a Deschampsia. I am not sure which one, but they are all pretty similar except for D. Bronzeschleier, which is not as bright.