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Welcome to the Willow
Oak product catalog. Inside is a wide variety of fresh and
dried plants, handcrafted items and kits, and more! |
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A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
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| Basil |
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Greek Bush, Dark Opal, Lettuce Leaf, Sweet Lemon, Holy, Neopolitan, Cinnamon, Licorice Scented, Red Ball, Spicy Globe, Genovese, Thai, Red Rubin.
Basil is truly an incredible herb. It is enjoyed for its rich and spicy, mildly peppery flavor with a trace of mint and clove. Basil is an annual herb belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae (Labiatae) and like others in this family, basil can be identified by its square, hairy stems. There are over 40 known varieties of basil of which Ocimum basilicum or Sweet Basil is the most commonly known and grown. Ocimum is from a Greek verb that means "to be fragrant." The foliage is easily bruised; just brushing against its foliage releases its wonderfully spicy fragrance. Varieties can grow to a height of 2 1/2 feet and are about as wide. Foliage colors range from pale to deep green, vivid purple and even purple laced with goldish yellow foliage. Texture varies from silky and shiny to dull and crinkly. Flowers appear in summer as whorls on the ends of branches and are either white or lavender. Some of the unusual fragrances and flavors include: cinnamon, lemon and anise. Basil is native to India and Asia having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years. It is grown there as a perennial in those warm, tropical climates.
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| Price:
$1.95 (3 inch pots) |
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| Bay |
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The Sweet Bay is a small tree, growing in Britain to a height of about 25 feet, but in warmer climates reaching as much as 60 feet. The smooth bark may be olive-green or of a reddish hue. The luxurious, evergreen leaves are alternate, with short stalks, lanceolate, 3 to 4 inches long, the margin smooth and wavy. They are thick, smooth, and of a shining, dark green colour. The flowers are small, yellow and unisexual, and grow in small clusters. The shrub has been cultivated in Britain since the sixteenth century. It is the source of the ancients' crowns and wreaths for heroes and poets, and the modern term of 'bachelor,' given for degrees, is probably derived from bacca-laureus, or laurel-berry, through the French bachelier.
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| Price:
$6.50 |
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| Bedstraw, Yellow |
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Yellow Bedstraw is abundant on dry banks, chiefly near the sea. Its small, bright yellow flowers are closely clustered together in dense panicles at the tops of the wiry, square, upright stems, which are I to 3 feet high, and bear numerous very narrow, almost thread-like leaves, placed six to eight together in whorls. The flowers are in bloom in July and August.
The plant has the property of curdling milk, hence another of its popular names ' Cheese Rennet.' It was called ' Cheese Renning' in the sixteenth century, and Gerard says (quoting from Matthiolus, a famous commentator of Dioscorides), 'the people of Thuscane do use it to turne their milks and the cheese, which they make of sheepes and goates milke, might be the sweeter and more pleasant to taste. The people in Cheshire especially about Nantwich, where the best cheese is made, do use it in their rennet, esteeming greatly of that cheese above other made without it.' The rich colour of this cheese was probably originally derived from this plant, though it is now obtained from annatto.
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| Price:
$3.50 (3 inch pots) |
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| Borage |
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Borage, Borago officinalis, is a gangly, airy plant growing up to about 2 1/2' high and about 2' wide. The leaves are wrinkled, long ovals, covered with prickly little hairs. The leaves are in clumps at the base. The flower clusters sit atop long hollow prickly stems which come out of the leave base. The flowers themselves droop, as if in need of water. All in all, borage sounds like an unattractive weed. Until you come to the flower itself. The heat of summer brings it out and abruptly this ugly duckling plant is covered with the most vibrant, star-shaped blue flowers.
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| Price:
$1.95 (3 inch pots) |
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| Butterfly Bush |
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Height: 8 feet
Hardiness Rating: 6 7 8 9
Germination: Experience Useful
Aftercare: Easy
Description: A strong growing easy to raise shrub producing fragrant plumes during the summer which are much loved by butterflies. Saved from named varieties. Flowers summer. Height 9-10ft.
Aftercare Instructions: To keep to a manageable size prune back each spring all previous years growth to 2-3in of old wood.
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| Price:
$9.95-$14.95 |
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