Living willow kits available from the end of November until the end of March. Each kit contains full instructions and all the materials needed to build each structure, including weed free membrane and tying tube.
PLEASE NOTE: LIVING WILLOW KITS ARE FOR COLLECTION ONLY.
For more information on purchasing living willow kits or other willow products email us, info@outtolearnwillow.co.uk or call 01656 881007/880514.
Living willow cuttings
Living willow cuttings are available from the beginning of February until the end of March.
Great for developing a corner in school grounds or garden to grow your own completely sustainable craft material. They will produce coloured willow rods suitable for craft projects from November to April.
Each kit contains planting instructions, how to care for your cuttings and what to expect from the first year's growth. They are also supplied with sufficient weed free membrane to cover your planting area.
Prices are for collection only, please contact us if you'd like delivery.
For more information on purchasing willow cuttings or other willow products email us, info@outtolearnwillow.co.uk or call 01656 01656 881007 / 07764 961095.
Bespoke design & build service
Out to Learn Willow offers a design and build service to include a variety of structures such as arbours, tunnels or domes as well as bespoke design that includes a detailed plan and drawing of the project for private clients and public spaces.
Living Willow structures are built in situ from unrooted rods which are available from December to March.
DIAMOND/UPRIGHT SCREEN LIVING WILLOW FEDGE - £19 per metre length
ROUND LIVING WILLOW ARBOUR - 1.8m high x 3m diameter - £345
ELIPTICAL LIVING WILLOW ARBOUR - 2m high x 2m wide x 1m long - £260
LIVING WILLOW ARCH - Up to 2m high, 1.75m wide, 0.5m long - £80
LIVING WILLOW TUNNEL - Up to 1.8m high, 1.75m wide, 1m long - £75 per metre
LIVING WILLOW TEEPEE - 1.8m high, 1.8m diameter - £260
SMALL LIVING WILLOW DOME - 1.5m high, 1.8m diameter - £260
MEDIUM LIVING WILLOW DOME - 1.8m high, 2.4m diameter - £300
LARGE LIVING WILLOW DOME - 1.8m high, 3m diameter - £380
LIVING WILLOW VIKING LONGSHIP - 7m long x 2.4m wide x 3m high - £495
If you want to find out more about our willow structures or a bespoke design project please contact us on 01656 881007 / 07764 961095 or email us, info@outtolearnwillow.co.uk
DIAMOND/UPRIGHT SCREEN LIVING WILLOW FEDGE KIT
£15 per metre length
3m long fedge kit - £45
ROUND LIVING WILLOW
ARBOUR KIT
Up to 1.8m high and 3m diameter
Round arbour kit - £100
ELIPTICAL LIVING WILLOW
ARBOUR KIT
2m high x 2m wide x 1m long
Elliptical arbour kit - £60
LIVING WILLOW ARCH KIT
Up to 2m high, 1.75m wide,
0.5m long
Arch kit - £35
LIVING WILLOW TUNNEL KIT
Up to 1.8m high, 1.75m wide, 1m long
Tunnel kit - £35 per metre
LIVING WILLOW
TEEPEE KIT
1.8m high, 1.8m diameter
Teepee kit - £80
SMALL LIVING WILLOW
DOME KIT
1.5m high, 1.8m diameter
Small dome kit - £80
MEDIUM LIVING WILLOW
DOME KIT
1.8m high, 2.4m diameter
Medium dome kit - £100
LARGE LIVING WILLOW
DOME KIT
1.8m high, 3m diameter
Large dome kit - £135
LIVING WILLOW
VIKING LONGSHIP KIT
7m long x 2.4m wide x 3m high
Viking longship kit - £200
SMALL BASKETRY WILLOW BED - £50
3m x 3m willow bed, 64 cuttings, 16 each of 4 varieties suitable for willow crafts and basketmaking. Comes with a 4m square of weed free membrane to plant through.
MEDIUM BASKETRY WILLOW BED - £75
5m x 3m willow bed, 96 cuttings, 16 each of 6 varieties suitable for willow crafts and basketmaking. Comes with a 6m x 4m of weed free membrane to plant through.
Planting living willow structures is great fun and the way they burst into life is very rewarding but there is no doubt that to keep them looking good some maintenance is required. A little and often is the best approach. Children love doing it too!
Here are our recommendations
Try and avoid watering unless the spring and summer are very dry in which case flood the structure with as much water as you can for 24 hours then leave it for a week. Then do it again. If you water a little and often it will only encourage roots close to the surface and the structures will always be susceptible to droughts.
Try and keep the half-meter strip around the willow stems weed and grass free, use mulch if you have some.
In late summer if you have had a good infestation of aphids you may well find they attract wasps which milk them for their honey dew. You can put down jam traps for them or just temporarily make the structure out of bounds for play and just go and watch them from time to time as its very interesting. You may well see a black fungus on the bark of the willow this is just a mould growing on the aphid honey dew secretion and is not harmful to the willow.
Once the leaves have dropped and before the buds break its time to go out and give the structure a good weave in. Then trim any big growth that you can’t weave in back to the original stem.
Use the bigger trimmed off rods to replace any rods that have died. Leave the original dead rod in place and insert the new rod butt first down through the binders and along side the old rod. Make a new hole 12” deep, push in the replacement rod and firm the soil around it.
Any remaining rods can be planted into new structures or dried out for 6 weeks and then used for weaving baskets etc.
Willow maintenance workshops
Living Willow structures MUST be properly maintained to preserve the natural beauty of the original structure. Maintenance permits the structure to grow healthily.
If you already have a willow structure that’s in need of maintaining we offer the following:
- Standard willow maintenance - £30 an hour or £150 a day.
- Half day maintenance session working with a small group of children £150. Pupils will handle secateurs and learn maintenance and weaving techniques.
- One-to-one maintenance sessions with member of teaching staff £35 per hour.
If you want to find out more about willow maintenance please contact us on 01656 881007 / 07764 961095 or email us, info@outtolearnwillow.co.uk
All about willow
Long before mankind, willow (genus Salix) thrived throughout the world. It's amongst the earliest recorded pre-Ice Age flowering plants. Willow has been highly valued since ancient times, the Celts were expert basketmakers and passed on their skills to the Romans.
Over the centuries willow has been used in the construction of a great many items ranging from hurdles, crab and lobster pots, eels traps, coracles, log baskets, to the finest baskets. It has been used as a dye plant, to make charcoal, as a timber, to prevent erosion of river banks and medicinally, it is the original source of aspirin.
Belonging to the plant family Salicaceae, of which popular are also members, willow has over 400 varieties and 200 hybrids. The beauty of willow is its adaptability, in our climate it will survive almost anywhere. It will tolerate some shade, but grows best in bright sunshine, and will grow on moist, dry or fertile sites as well as in impoverished or polluted soil. This magical plant will actually improve poor soil and clean polluted sites.
You will see many bugs and wildlife on living willow it is second only to the Oak tree in the number of creatures that feed on it. Apart from some virus’s there is little that will kill the willow mostly it will just slow its growth.
Willow can grow in most locations, although it shouldn't be planted too close to buildings, we recommend a planting distance of 1.5 times the height you will be allowing the plant to grow from any structure, building or drain
Living willow
Living willow is a wonderful material to work with, flexible and forgiving. In winter months it can be planted and woven to make structures and in summer the structure begins to grow enhancing any garden.
Living willow structures and sculptures are easy to make. Children love constructing domes and tunnels with willow because it requires little skill and lots of imagination. Living willow fences, ‘fedges’, are an attractive alternative to conventional fencing. Structures built from willow are environmentally friendly and sustainable - a true green alternative to plastic play equipment.
Salix Viminalis is the variety of willow that we use for creating structures. It produces long, straight rods which are cut from the parent plant during the dormant season. This is roughly from the end of November to the end of March, but depends on the mildness of the local climate. Freshly cut willow is flexible and pliable and ideal for creating a variety of structures.
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