What makes a Wonder Tree?

With willows it is the blend of beauty, diversity, adaptability, but above all usefulness which marks them aside from many other temperate trees. You can’t deny the tremendous virtues of oak and beech but when you plant these trees you are growing them for the future. With willow, you can watch a tree mature to full size within your own life time, or alternatively you can cut it down every year and it will produce new shoots that can be used as the raw material for any number of useful products and activities.

Willows are the inspiration behind the Wondertree project in Taunton, Somerset in the UK.  The proposed visitor attraction is a “working arboretum” –  a garden of trees that is both ornamental and functional, providing beauty as they grow and products when they are harvested.  Every tree will literally have to earn their place but the project won’t merely be a tree factory. The site will include willow mazes, hidden gardens, sculptures and structures including a majestic “Green Cathedral” made of living willow. The aim of the project is to act as a living teacher of plant life, conservation and sustainability and rekindle the intimate connection between humans and plants.