Willow

I was working in Alcester this afternoon, and when I finished I walked confidently into the town looking for a Derelict Thursday blip. But dereliction was there none (she said, trying hard not to sound disappointed) - it's a bustling little town with lots of small independent retailers, and the few empty properties mostly look tidy and as though they will probably be in use again soon. The ex-HSBC bank was a bit tired, but hardly derelict; there's a carpet shop on the High Street that has seen better days, but is still trading; and I happened on some rather unattractive green-painted fibre-board, covering the windows of a half-timbered building beside a cut-through - but that was it, and even my best efforts failed to make any of these into interesting images.

Grumping back to the car I stopped at Waitrose to pick up some flowers, and in their live plant section spotted a really charming little willow tree, only about 50cm tall. I photographed it on the spot, but then decided that in the circumstances it would be rude not to buy it...! Back at home I put it on the patio table and got some better shots - of which CH picked this one. There's another with slightly more dof here, which also shows the nice bark.

Oh - I nearly forgot: it's Salix caprea 'Kilmarnock'.