Willow weaving wonders...
On the 1st day of March we weaved our willow arch! This was quite a hefty task, but this is how we went about it: to begin, we found a suitable area in the shape of a semi-circle next to the greenhouse and started to dig down at least 30cm so that the willow can establish sufficient roots and gather sufficient minerals and nutrients to grow.
However, it was more like excavation than digging… but these stones were useful since they formed the mini dry stone wall that surrounded our willow!
After this, we formed the dug hole with compost, soil and then covered it with a sheeting to avoid weeds growing and competing with the willow, diverting resources away from it.
After this, we started to put the willow in place by making holes into the sheeting and earth, before placing the major supporting arches.
The arches were bent together and weaved to form a structure: the outer ones were weaved together and then we worked inwards until a basic semi-dome was made. After this, younger and suppler willow was weaved within the arch horizontally to provide additional support - these are dead and will not form buds and new growth. Similarly, a diamond pattern was made using further willow as support, but this will grow and bud.
In the end we formed a beautiful dome, despite the weather being absolutely freezing and raining! We were also left with some additional willow to make simpler objects such as wreathes or baskets.