Were they water maidens in the long ago, that they lean out sadly looking down below? — Walter Prichard Eaton If ever there were a tree to stir the heart of a poet, weeping willow would claim the honor. To Walter Prichard Eaton, the long, slender branches gently dipping to the water of a river, “still…deep and brown,” is nothing if not the hair of a once-fair maiden. Robert Herrick also saw melancholy, proclaiming, “Thou art to all lost love the best,” a tree under which distressed young men and maids “weary of the light…come to weep out the night.” Napoleon Bonaparte must have seen something of this in the tree, too. When banished to the island of St. Helena, Napoleon is said to have found a favorite place beneath a weeping willow, undoubtedly reflecting there on his lost honors. He was buried by the tree, and cuttings from it came into high demand around the world. One even made its way to East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.   Weeping willow is a native of China. The rapid growth and ease of reproducing itself has led to a large number of different species. No one is even sure how … Continue reading Weeping Willow: The Tree of Romance