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There is something deeply satisfying about weaving your own plant supports from a bundle of willow rods, and it is one of the oldest rural crafts still practised in British gardens today. Willow is forgiving, fast-growing and remarkably cheap if you know where to look. Unlike basketry with cane or rush, willow bends without much persuasion, and a single morning's work can produce something genuinely useful for the garden.
The species you want is Salix viminalis, commonly called common osier, or one of the many coloured-bark varieties grown for craft work. You can buy prepared rods by mail order, or cut your own from a local hedgerow with the landowner's permission between November and February, when the sap is down and the rods are dormant. Freshly cut rods are supple and will weave beautifully with no soaking at all.
Most beginners work with dried rods, which need rehydrating before use. Stand them upright in a bucket or water butt and cover them completely with water. Soak overnight for thin rods, and up to three or four days for thicker ones. A good test is to bend a rod into a circle the size of a dinner plate: if it flexes without cracking, it is ready. If it snaps, put it back in the water.
Sort your bundle before you start. You want:
A sharp pair of secateurs, a stout pair of gloves and a bodkin or metal skewer are all the tools you really need. A wooden board to work on will save your knees.
The rand weave is the foundation of almost every willow structure, and it is wonderfully simple. You are essentially weaving a rod in and out of a series of uprights, working your way around or along.
To practise, push five or six thick rods into the ground or into a block of florist's foam, spaced about 10cm apart. Take a long, soaked rod and tuck its butt end behind the first upright. Now weave it in front of the next upright, behind the following one, and keep going. When you run out of rod, tuck the tip down beside an upright and start a new rod, overlapping by at least two uprights so the join holds firm. Push each row down snugly with your fingers as you go; slack weaving produces a wobbly, disappointing result.
This is the ideal first project and takes about half an hour.
The result is a handsome dome that looks far better than anything plastic, and it will last several seasons if you keep it dry over winter.
Hurdles are the classic rural craft item: a woven panel used for fencing, screening a compost heap, or training sweet peas. You will need two stout uprights and about a dozen thinner rods.
Hammer two sturdy stakes into the ground about 90cm apart, or clamp two uprights to a workbench. Weave your rods horizontally between them using the same rand weave, packing each row tight against the one below. Aim for a panel around 1.2m tall. Finish the top by tucking the ends neatly behind the uprights and trimming them flush with your secateurs. Two or three hurdles together make a lovely rustic screen for a seating area.
Once your rand weave feels natural, a simple round basket is within reach. You will need a base ring, which you can make by bending a thick rod into a circle and binding the ends. Arrange eight to twelve uprights around the ring, then weave the base in a tight circle, working in and out of each upright. When the base is the size of a saucer, bend the uprights upwards and continue weaving the sides with the rand weave until the basket is as tall as you want. Finish with a border: bend each upright down behind its neighbour, working around the rim, and tuck the last one in firmly.
Freshly woven willow shrinks as it dries, so do not panic if your work looks slightly loose on day one. It will tighten. Keep finished pieces out of standing water, and treat them with a coat of linseed oil if they will live outdoors year-round.
If rods crack, they need longer soaking. If your structure leans, your uprights are too far apart or your rows are not pushed down tightly enough. Both are easily fixed next time.
Willow is generous stuff. Once you have made a support, a hurdle and a basket, you will find yourself eyeing up the winter hedge with entirely new ambitions. A pair of gloves, a bucket of water and an afternoon is all the countryside living you need.
The Cottage Meadow shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on british cottage gardening, rural crafts and simple countryside living for readers across the UK.
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