Above is a photo of a drooping or weeping willow that is reflected in the algae-green water. Looking southwest and across The Pool, you can see a blooming Yoshino cherry.
The Weeping Willow is most commonly found in spots like the one in The Pool photo - willow loves the moist environment of lakes and ponds and grows 30 to 40 feet tall with a distinctive canopy of weeping or drooping branches. It is one of 75 species of willows native to North America.
Dr. Michael Dirr, in his Trees and Shrubs book says this tree "is one of the best loved and most hated trees in landscape history. The graceful weeping habit and the long, trailing, supple stems, golden in winter sun, have inspired poets and artists along with gardeners." The hatred Dirr mentions is that the tree sheds mountains of broken limbs and destroys sidewalks, sewers and foundations and can be a bane to property owners.
