The crack willow is named for the noise, and the noise is the strategy. Its twigs snap off cleanly at the base in wind, float away down the water and root wherever they wash up, which is how one willow turns into a riverbank full of them. This one grows below Major's Hill Park on the slope toward the Ottawa River, with the National Gallery of Canada on one side and the twin spires of Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica on the other. There are few better places in the city to stand under a tree. Mid-May is when the ground around it is worth the walk on its own account. The park is planted out for the Canadian Tulip Festival, which began with a gift of bulbs from the Dutch royal family after the Second World War, and the beds run right up to the willow while the crowds work their way along them. The tree's own contribution to spring is a couple of weeks of small green catkins in April that nobody has ever crossed town for. Willows grow fast, hollow early and are almost always younger than they look, which makes guessing at this one pointless. The register names it and records no age, no girth and no planting date. If anyone has put a tape around it, we would take the number.
Below Major's Hill Park, near the National Gallery of Canada and Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa, ONOn the slope below Major's Hill Park toward the river, between the National Gallery and Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica; look for small green catkins in April.
Free, open public park, no barrier
Rideau Station (O-Train Confederation Line) approx 6-8 min walk
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
- In the official register: National Capital Commission
- National Capital Commission (NCC), 'A Living Legacy: Remarkable Trees of Canada's Capital' (objectid 10, NCC 'A Living Legacy')
- Ottawa Tourism, 'Celebrate spring Ottawa-style with the Canadian Tulip Festival'
- The Paint Box Garden, 'Major's Hill Park - Tulip Festival - Ottawa' (thepaintboxgarden.com)