Flowering Dragonwood Branches

Flowering branches are beautiful and popular, but they have a short season and last no longer than any other fresh flower. If you want flowering branches during the off season, or for an application where you need them to last a while, the real thing is not an option.

Here's a window display of flowering branches created using Dragonwood Branches, specifically poles and forks, and faux flower stems.

The displays are very graceful, fitting the space beautifully. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the beautiful form was created using individual pieces of Dragonwood trees combined with numerous faux flower stems.

It seems the designers of these window displays, like Impressionist painters, were very explicitly trying to create something from distinct and discrete pieces. The effect is beautiful. 

Hanging Manzanita Trees

Manzanita Branches can be used for more than just centerpieces. Of course when folks think about decorating their walls, they think about pictures and perhaps a mirror or two. Decorative branches such as Manzanita Trees provide a great alternative. Hanging them is just about as quick and simple as hanging a picture.

It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Tap in a picture hanger where you want the branch to hang;
2. Find where the branch balances in the orientation you want; and
3. Hang the branch!

Below is a large Natural Manzanita Branch adding a botanical accent to a headboard

And here's a Sandblasted Manzanita Tree in a vertical orientation providing a driftwood like accent to the bathroom:

Pussy Willow Tips - Ideal for Smaller Vases and Centerpieces

We have a new size and style of Pussy Willow available - Pussy Willow Tips. These are about 20-24" long, and each stem has around 4-10 catkins. These are ideal for arrangements with dried flowers such as the hydrangeas shown here.

For this arrangement, we just put dried hydrangeas into a vase, and then inserted the Pussy Willow Tips down through the flower head. Oftentimes when you are creating displays like this it can be tough to get the items to stay where you want them, but in this case the hydrangeas kept the Pussy Willows right where we wanted them. 

Of course you can just drop Pussy Willow Tips into a vase for a quick and easy display. Below is a display of two bundles. 

Get Inspired With Yucca Poles

Yucca Poles provide a tall and unique accent. 

If you are looking for tall and distinctive decorative branches to fill a large vase or urn, Yucca Poles are an excellent choice. They are also the least expensive item we have that's around 6 feet tall.

Currently, a bundle of 10 Yucca Poles ranging from 5-7' feet tall is $100.00, which includes the shipping. If you need a large quantity, the base cost for 100 Yucca Poles is $2.25. We also have Yucca Poles that are as tall as 10-12'.

Yucca Poles are uniquely light yet strong, perhaps even surpassing Bamboo in the strength-to-weight department. The outer layer of material is particularly strong and fibrous, while the interior is a soft pith.

Another distinctive attribute is the spire-like form. The base of a 5-7' Yucca Pole can range from 1-2 inches, while tapering to a point over the length of the decorative branch.

'Tis Pussy Willow Season!

Select Grade Pussy Willow Branches

Pussy Willow season is in full swing - now's the time to get this seasonal favorite!

We only have Pussy Willows in stock from early January until mid-March, as we have found that it is necessary to ship it fresh. Although people ask for it year-round, once dry, the catkins become quite fragile and can't withstand all the bumping and jostling of shipping.

However, they'll last indefinitely if you just drop them into a waterless vase and let them dry.

This year we have three different options for Pussy Willow Branches available:

• Select Grade Pussy Willow, where we hand select every single branch, making sure each branch has more than 10 catkins on it and taking off the brown shells that cover the catkins. This is by far the most popular grade of Pussy Willow.

• Project Grade Pussy Willow, which are as they come from the grower, with the exception that we trim the bottoms so they are all under 4 feet to fit in our boxes. 

• Pussy Willow Seconds, which are the branches that didn't have enough catkins to make it into the Select Grade bundles. If you need a lot of decorative branches for a vase, Pussy Willow Seconds are an excellent choice.

Pussy Willow is a sentimental springtime favorite for many, especially for those of us that grew up in the northern states. As a kid, in March I'd start keeping a very close eye on the Pussy Willow growing in the ditch along the driveway. Once the catkins emerged I felt like spring had finally arrived and soon the grass would start greening up and Grandma's crocuses which I loved so much would start flowering.

Over the course of the year when Pussy Willows are out of stock, we gather a long list of people to notify when Pussy Willow is available. After shipping the first round in early January we got a note from someone who said that her father had been looking for Pussy Willow for years and it was all he wanted for his 95th birthday - they arrived just in time and he absolutely loved them.

This note was a lovely reminder it is often the simplest things that are the most touching.