Willow Work

Lovely willow work, Siris. Looks a really nice place to visit too. I can’t decide which piece of artwork I like the best!

Oh Wow, they are amazing, thank you for sharing :-). That must take real skill, I like the deer and the pheasant best.

Great willow work! What a challenge for Dawn! Love the Pheasant. Rachel and Richard live in Shaftesbury Siris. And Rachel teaches at Gillingham. I shall have to get my next visit planned...love it down there!

Haha Karen

My there are some artistic folk around aren't there? Blows my mind how they do it...

wow isnt that amazing.
I have a friend who does similar with chicken wire. I really must see about doing a course with her.

Aren't the statues amazing! I am assuming they are Willow. Maybe Dogwood was used as well, there were bushes of that with various different coloured stems. There was a trail of pieces all numbered, but I just pictured the most impressive. It was such lousy weather I only got my camera out now and again, mostly for the renowned buildings.
DAWN the Raindeer were attached to a huge sleigh, I took a pic of the relatives in it.
KAREN quite expensive unless you are a member of the National Trust. We usually take a stroll along Park Walk if we go into Shaftesbury, there's also an interesting little cottage garden at the Gold Hill Museum (free still I think)
SEABURNGIRL that sounds an idea. I've seen theses used as formers for topiary. I tried free hand topiary-ing a small Peacock from the yellow bush Honysuckle (Lonicera nitida) but folks thought it was a Dachshound!

They are fabulous ,very clever , Dawn we're expecting great things from you in the future Lol x

Some very inspired willow weaving there.....I kept all our Cronus cuttings last year, but ran out of ideas, good luck Dawn!
Siris brave of you to venture out in such awful weather.....

Haha everyone! I admire these clever weavers, amazing really.

DAWN, In the past, I've seen a living Willow wigwam for children's play, but I think your offspring are a bit too old for that now, but you could make a living arbour with a seat in it.

Yes my daughter is 30 now! But she’s very young at heart and no doubt would love one.
We did have a willow arch/tunnel but it was hard work keeping it trimmed and tied in and we needed stepladders so we abandoned it but it was lovely.
I’ve seen willow logs laid on the ground and they shooted to create an arbor affair

Great if you have a large garden, but keeping that space tidy must take a lot of time and effort.

Yes, I keep saying I’m trying to make my garden as easy to manage as possible, hmmm