Living Willow Features
Living Willow.
There is nothing more beautiful than living willow, with the varying colours and shades of the rods showing throughout the year, decorated with bright buds in the spring and stunning greenery in the summer.
Living willow is perfect for maintaining the attractiveness of your garden, while incorporating a practical element with a delicately curving fedge. Bring some inspired fun with a deceptively strong willow dome, combining imaginative play with nature in your school or nursery.
As a trained nursery nurse and fully DBS checked, I’m happy to incorporate a learning element to the creation of your living willow structure. Children and adults alike can enjoy learning the skill of weaving willow. Why not make a class project into a stunning addition to your playground?
Why use willow?
The flexibility and inherent strength in willow rods make it an incredible versatile support material, and of course it’s long lasting and weather resistant. Growing fast and easily in the UK ensures that the willow is both natural, local and has a very low carbon imprint. A truly renewable resource.
Care and Maintenance
Living willow makes a lovely feature in your garden or play area, and brings joy year after year. Simple pruning and a little maintenance will keep the shape and strength in the structure for years to come.
For those who prefer to admire their garden I provide a regular and reliable maintenance service, returning as needed to spruce up your living willow structure.
When should you plant your living willow garden feature?
The season for planting living willow is between November to March. Take a good look at your garden in the spring and summer and consider where you would love to see growing green willow. Then we can book in and design your structure with plenty of time to plant, ready for the next years growth.
Our Nursery School was in need of a den on our Forest School area. We wanted it to fit the natural state of the Forest. Ellen did a fab job of creating a wonderful wigwam which the children can develop over time.
Ellen also ‘rescued’ our dying willow tunnel, offering us advice on how best to maintain it. She was friendly with staff and the children and professional in her manner. I can’t wait for her to begin developing another live willow dome later in the year. I would definitely recommend her to anyone wishing to develop their outdoor space.
West Heath Nursery School
Ellen worked neatly, efficiently, skillfully and above all professionally to produce a wonderful ‘Living willow Dome’ in our Nursery playground.
The children were so excited to hear how we will need to work together to look after our new ‘den’ so that it will continue to grow and change daily. Imaginations were running wild with ideas of it perhaps being a ‘cave’, ‘castle’, ‘palace’ or even a ‘planet’.
Thank you, Ellen, from the Teachers and children at Boldmere Infant and Nursery school