Science for Work and Play 1

The first year around 3 rods will probably grow and it is best to cut the willow back to 10 cm above the ground the following February as this will encourage more rods to grow so you have a nice thick base with 10 to 20 shoots from it. The rods will then grow in the same way as they do from stools but much higher up. Willow rods grown in a coppice from stools, will grow tall and straight and have an intense colour in the winter – perfect for basketry. Willow coppices Last weekend, mid February, I spent coppicing – cutting back my willow and hazel. One useful tip is to lay down weed control fabric over the site of your coppice and push your planting stools through it. This saves a lot of time weeding and prevents other plants growing up and causing the willow to twist or fork. (You can plant long rods horizontally under the soil, as willow will also sprou right along the length, but as it will not do this evenly cuttings are more accurate for a good looking coppice. To plant a coppice all you need to do is to make cuttings from straight branches that you have cut before and push them into the ground in the early Spring around now. On a large scale you can crop your rods for baskets or fuel on a 2 to 5 year cycle – every 3 years being the most popular. The best time to coppice is February before the buds start to come out as the soft pussy willow buds appear in early March or late February in a warm year. If you are planting in rows it is best to push the cuttings in 60 cm apart with two rows 75 cm apart. Secondly, mixed variety coppices are healthier and more resistant to willow rust and willow beetle.

I ditched the coverings on the bonfire pile. A week later and the shoots are colouring up well.

He fell out with Faber in 1984 when the new editor Craig Raine didn't want to publish (or rather, re-publish) a poem about Murphy's father's estate in Rhodesia. Afterwards, Murphy's poetry was re-published by US University presses and by the Gallery Press in Ireland. Prior to the falling-out, Murphy (b. 1927) had been an established Faber poet for twenty years, a regular Poetry Society recommendation, and a regular part of the literary scene, pal of Lowell and Roethke, colleague of Hughes, Plath, etc.