Willow Tree in Easton, MD, Courtesy: CarlisleFlowers

The authors, Jill Duchess of Hamilton, Penny Hart & John Simmons in their book, The Gardens of William Morris, published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang 1998, state, “Willow was one of Morris’s (the father of the Arts and Crafts movement in England) favorite plants.”  His willow designs are reflected in his famous wallpaper and fabrics:  Willow and Willow Boughs, Tulip and Willow and Scroll, as so noted by the authors of his Gardens book.  William Morris’ daughter, May, wrote in her biography of her father how concerned he was for the conservation of the willow in the surrounds of London.  Duchess, Hart & Simmons relay the importance Morris placed on his daughter, for her to see nature not in a symbolic way but just in an observational way.  “He designed his most famous wallpaper, Willow after taking a walk with her, enthralling her with the botany of the trees along the river bank.”