The silver furry catkins of pussy willow are one of the first signs of spring. While there are many different species and varieties of willow, which all bear catkins, the one most widely grown in gardens and best known as ‘pussy willow’ is Salix caprea ‘Kilmarnock’, or ‘Kilmarnock willow’. This is a small and compact deciduous tree, ideal for small gardens. It grows to around 1.8-2.4m high with a spread of up to 1.5m, and forms a stiffly weeping ‘umbrella’ of branches. Yellow-green stems are smothered in fuzzy silver catkins from late winter to early spring on bare twigs, before the leaves open. The pollen-laden catkins are immensely popular with bees. Rounded mid-green leaves appear after the catkins.