They were helping at the school for two weeks, with the school's garden project: a whole area is going to have habitats and raised beds, for gardening and play. It is a really good vision. The site is quite damp and water logged, so willow should help this part of it to drain, as the willow roots soak up moisture from a large area and depth around itself.
So they had seen how it grows in a wet place, and forms a tree with multiple stems. It was really good and bendy so was definitely a kind of osier willow, although I am not sure which sort it was. Osier willows are the sort used for basketry and weaving, they are very bendy and do not snap. A goat willow however, (which has its pussy willow flowers out in early spring) does not bend well, and snaps.
We removed the turf from the circle, and loosened the soil, to a depth of 1 foot, then we chose the longest willow lengths to form the main structure. The bases went into the ground 1 foot deep. The dome was about 8-10 feet across.
The following day, the students and the co-ordinator, teacher Sue Thorn, madeanother willow sculpture beside the first one: this lovely bower over a carved chair. The chair is in memory of a pupil at the school who died from illness. It will be a story telling chair. It was great that they could use their skills to make this on their own..jpg)
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