Under the able tutelage of Gus Egan from Earth Calling, four of our Committee members have learned some basic lessons about working with willow. There can be few materials more accommodating than willow – it has a determination to grow that is almost magical. Push a bit into the ground and it will generally grow. We pruned and shaped our two living willow structures – the Magic Tunnel and the Pirate Ship and built a trial ‘fedge’ – a willow palisade that is somewhere in between a fence and a hedge.
Willow becomes less pliable once it starts budding in the spring so we will have to wait until next winter to build on our new skills. We would like to design a living willow maze for pre-school children now that we know how to make fedges.