DAY 30 (5 MAY) – Salix babylonica (River Avon, Salisbury)
The fresh streams ran by her, and murmured her moans / Sing willow, willow, willow (Desdemona’s song).
Today I found out there is more than one River Avon in England (four, in fact). Bit embarrassing… So maybe Shakespeare was inspired to write the beautiful, sad willow song while watching his Avon.
And an interesting fact about the name. The Babylon willow (another name for the weeping willow) is a misnomer. It’s from China. Psalm 137 which famously starts: ‘By the waters of Babylon..‘ goes on to say ‘... on the willows there we hung our lyres‘. But the trees referred to in the Bible were in fact Euphrates poplars. So there we are.
