My Living Willow Arbor (Needs a Haircut)

This is not the easiest object in our garden to photograph, but I thought it was worth a shot. I cannot lie and say that it took us a great deal of time to create and train, but it does take some time to cut it all back. The pleasure it gives us though, and our guests and family every summer, is worth it, and the branches can be used for a variety of things—mostly garden related of course! 

This is the arbor as seen from the other approach.

     

Here is what can happen when you are not paying attention to how your training is going. The injury should be fine, and this summer the "training wheels" will finally be pulled out, but I'm curious to see what happens to the tube then...

There is nothing I enjoy more than when I'm able to wake up on a sunny and warm morning, put my Bialetti coffee pot on the stove, and then look out the window to see the cats already sunbathing. I grab the laptop, pour the coffee, and slip on my shoes. Nearby traffic is an annoyance, but so it goes in the city. 

This is the crisscross on the top of the arbor. It is not straight, and it is a bit overgrown, but I plan to get this all whipped into shape this summer!

The Clematis 'Josephine' is the other big highlight in the backyard this time of year. It lives on the  NE willow. I have Clematis vines on two of the other trees, but they have not taken off nearly as well yet.