Living Garden Structures

These structures - such as arbours and tunnels - use willow in their construction and they are both easy and fun to create. Willow stem harvesting begins in autumn and continues through to early spring - so projects need to carried out during these months. Some specialist growers supply instructions along with suitable plant material. If you don’t receive such instructions, the basic guidance is to store live stems with the bases immersed in water until needed.

To plan your living structure, first choose a part of the garden that is moist and sunny, avoiding areas with open drains. Ideally you should clear grass away from the base of the structure before planting to prevent competition from grass stems inhibiting the willow growth.

The staves – which is the official term for willow stems – should be pushed a foot or more into the ground –which man mean making a hole first for thicker stems. Arbours, tunnels, wigwams and living fences can be created, incorporating simple or complicated weaving designs. Remember that any point where stems cross will graft together. Encourage this by tying joins with tarred string.

Shoots will sprout from the staves inserted into the ground. If you cut them back, these stems should thicken. Later trimming for shape can be carried out in the summer or left until winter. New growth can also be woven in to fill gaps in the design or strengthen the structure. You can use a basic over and under weave to take the new shoots into the framework branches, but make your weave diagonally above the horizontal. This task is best left to the winter, as shoots are very brittle in the summer and liable to snap.

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