Why Willow Earns Its Place in the Border

There is something deeply satisfying about a plant support you grew, cut and wove yourself. Willow is the ideal material for the job: it is cheap, abundant, wonderfully flexible and entirely compostable once it has done its work. A woven obelisk or hoop has an honesty about it that no plastic-coated metal cage can match, and it weathers into a soft silver-grey that sits beautifully among perennials.

Willow also suits our growing year perfectly. The rods are cut in winter, when the sap is down and the garden is quiet, then woven into shape in late winter and early spring just as the sweet peas and climbing beans are ready to be planted out. Basketry and gardening become the same activity, which is exactly as it should be.

Choosing and Preparing Your Rods

If you have a willow in the garden — a pollarded Salix viminalis or common osier is ideal — you have a ready supply. Otherwise, rods are easy to source from hedgerows you have permission to cut, or from specialist growers. Look for straight, clean stems of about 1.8 to 2.4 metres, roughly the thickness of a pencil or a little more at the base.

Cut rods between November and March while dormant. You will meet three sorts:

• Fresh or green willow — straight from the tree, supple and ready to weave immediately.
• Brown willow — dried with the bark on. Soak before use.
• Buff willow — bark stripped after boiling, pale and smooth. Also needs soaking.

Dried rods must be rehydrated or they will snap. Submerge them completely in cold water — a water butt, a livestock trough or, at a push, the bath — and weight them down with bricks. Allow five to ten days for pencil-thick rods, longer for fat ones. If a rod bends without cracking, it is ready. Leave them soaking for more than a fortnight and the bark will blacken and rot, so keep an eye on the calendar.

Weaving an Obelisk

An obelisk suits sweet peas, morning glory, jasmine and any annual climber. Start with eight to ten rods of around two metres.

• Push six uprights into the soil in a circle roughly 45 to 50 centimetres across, sinking each one 15 to 20 centimetres deep for stability.
• Take a weaver rod and pass it alternately in front of and behind each upright, working around the circle. Weave three or four rings, spacing them at roughly 30, 70 and 110 centimetres up.
• As the obelisk narrows, gently bend the uprights inward. When you reach the top, gather the remaining ends together and bind them firmly with twine or a split withy.
• Tuck in any loose weaver ends by threading them back down through the weave rather than cutting them off flush.

If you prefer a twist, pair the rods at the base and twist two together as you raise them, splaying the feet outward for a sturdier footprint. Either way, work on a flat patch of ground and keep checking the obelisk stands vertical before the final tie.

Hoops, Fans and Low Frames

Not every plant needs height. For herbaceous perennials that flop — peonies, hardy geraniums, catmint — a simple hoop is perfect. Bend two or three long rods into a circle, overlapping the ends generously, and bind the overlap tightly. Push the tails into the ground at intervals so the hoop sits like a low collar around the crown.

A single rod bent into an arch, both ends pushed into the soil, makes a handsome edging for lavender or alpine beds. For a fan, push five or six rods into the ground in a straight line and tie them together near the top; this is excellent for training climbing roses or espaliered fruit along a wall. Line several arches in a row and you have a rustic tunnel for a veg patch or a path.

Tying Securely and Tending Through the Season

Good tying is what makes a support last. Use jute twine, hemp cord or split willow withies, and avoid anything plastic-coated that will shred and shed into the border. Remember that willow shrinks as it dries, so a tie that feels snug in February may loosen by May. Check your bindings in early summer and tighten any that have slackened.

Willow will usually throw out leafy shoots in spring. Rub them off if you want a neat structure, or leave them be — a slightly sprouting obelisk has its own charm. Occasionally a rod will root where it touches damp soil. That is no disaster; simply lift and replace it the following winter. Well-made supports last two or three seasons before they become brittle, after which they can be chopped up and added to the compost heap, ready to feed next year's border.