When I was a child, one of the plants I begged my parents to grow in the garden (to no avail) was pussy willows, which I always found to be really cool looking, and soft, and fuzzy, and just plain fun. When I got a house of my own, I planted pussy willows, though they have no really purpose other than to make me happy :-) I did see recently that people are selling pussy willow branches on eBay (hmmmm...I may need to think about that for next year)...so maybe I could turn it into a cash crop.

The thing is, if you've ever cut some pussy willows for yourself, you know that if you put them in water, you will very quickly have a nasty mess on your hands, as they start to explode (as pussy willow catkins do when the warmer weather gets here). Instead, to preserve the pussy willows, pick them when they look just right, and stick them in a vase (or canning jar LOL) without water!