Dunbar Gardens

05/03/2026

Several of Katherine’s willow baskets that have found new homes this spring. I realized we hadn’t posted in awhile so wanted to share some recent work. Well made baskets that should give many years of use. There were also a couple of ninth anniversary presents there which is a nice gift.

04/18/2026

Living willow fence and archway pruned for another year though I should probably prune the arch top more. A few photos from different views and the last one is from fall before the new growth was cut. Originally planted in 2018 with willow varieties Continental Purple, Irette, Purpurea x daphnoides, Harrison’s B and Golden.

04/15/2026

Another year of shipping willow cuttings is almost finished. I think I started mail orders back in 2008 (though now I am using UPS as the carrier). I managed to get several thousand cuttings out though I began to realize back in January that recovery from radiation and chemo therapy for cancer last year was going to slow me way down. The good news is that there are many more sources for cuttings than when we started for people to order from. I do hope customers have been happy with our cuttings over the years.

04/11/2026

In need of a haircut? It was time for the annual pruning of the living willow hut that was originally planted in 2011 on the farm with Salix purpurea Eugene rods. First photo is halfway through after pruning while standing on the ground. Second is actuallly a couple months back when I pruned off some larger rods. Third photo is after I got a ladder to trim the top. Fourth is some new growth.

03/27/2026

Katherine’s willow bark basket was juried into the Northwest Designer Craftartists exhibit at Allied Arts Gallery at the Park in Richland, WA which will be open March 31 - May 1. The exhibit is part of Handwork 2026 which is a national celebration of craft by Craft in America. I have posted images before of this “Treasure Box”. Second exhibit it has been chosen for so others must like it as much as we do.

03/04/2026

Slowly we’re getting through the willow harvest and making cuttings to ship out. We had a few nice spring like days and I was lucky to have Katherine helping me in the field. I am running behind on the cuttings orders and appreciate people’s patience. If you are a customer anxious to plant, you can always send an email about your order. Though I’m not taking any new orders!

02/20/2026

Putting my new “Wonders of Willow” mug to work this week while making cuttings for orders. Thanks to Erin for inviting me to give a presentation at the wonderful event she organized last weekend at the impressive . Katherine and I had a great time though we forgot to take any photos so I can’t even show you what I looked like in action.
I appreciated Erin’s partner Christopher for setting up the audio visuals. He is quite the gardener as well . It was fun to meet Zak who is a good contact for anyone working with native willows in the northwest. Finally met Alana and Michael from .willows in person and traded a few cuttings. Another good source for willow cuttings in the Pacific Northwest. Nice to see other cuttings customers at the event doing some teaching or networking like Melissa , Shannon , Kaisha and Radha . I checked out the table as well though Carrie didn’t seem to know who I was even though she has been to my farm three times to pick up cuttings for her farm clients. One of them was at my talk Diane Bell who is growing willow . Also briefly met David and June from Sandy, Oregon who are growers and weavers of willow .
I’m back to our willows that you can see in the video clip making cuttings to ship out. Meanwhile out in the field early bloomers like Stewartstown are starting to open. I caught an Anna’s Hummingbird feeding on open flowers.

02/17/2026

Willow Fest Northwest is coming up in July.

Willow Fest Northwest 2026 information is now up on our webpage! Visit basketryguild.org/what-we-do and scroll down to the Willow Fest logo for lots of details. Complete class descriptions are coming soon.
Willow Fest Northwest 2026 will be held at Reed College in Portland OR. Class dates are Thursday July 23 thru Sunday July 26. Registration opens April 19 at noon PST to members of CBBG and NWBW (we welcome you to join!). Information about grant and scholarship opportunities offered by these guilds are included on the webpage.
We hope to see you at Willow Fest Northwest in July!

02/13/2026

Where’s Steve? He is getting pulled out of the field to give a presentation on his experience growing willow for Katherine’s baskets this Sunday at noon at Sky Nursery in Seattle as part of the Wonders of Willow event. Katherine is coming too and we will have some of her baskets along as well. Hopefully Steve’s voice will hold up for the talk since it’s been so raspy after all the radiation treatments last year. Now to spend some time getting ready!

02/08/2026

Happy SuperB_owl Sunday! Here are a few of my best owl photos to enjoy.
1) Barred Owl perched in front of a Blue Streak willow tree with catkins galore.
2) Great Horned Owl.
3) Long-eared Owl.
4) American Barn Owl.
5) Short-eared Owl.
6) Snowy Owl.