Why Willow Belongs in a Wildlife Garden

Willow is one of the most generous plants you can grow. It roots from a cutting pushed into damp ground, grows at astonishing speed, and can be cut again and again without killing the plant. For a gardener who also wants to feed the birds and shelter the hedgehogs, that is a rare combination: a renewable material that doubles as habitat.

If you have a soggy corner, a boundary that floods each winter, or simply a patch of ground you would rather not mow, willow will settle in happily. The catkins that appear in early spring are one of the first proper sources of pollen for queen bumblebees emerging from hibernation. Later, the dense tangle of stems gives cover for wrens, dunnocks and the occasional resting bat. And because you will be cutting it regularly, you get armfuls of free material for the sort of garden crafts that cost a small fortune in the shops.

Choosing and Harvesting Your Willow

For craft work you want rods that are long, whippy and unbranched. The classic choice is common osier (Salix viminalis), but any of the basket willows will serve. If you are planting fresh, push 30cm cuttings into damp soil between November and March, leaving two or three buds above ground, and space them about 45cm apart in a row. They will be ready to cut lightly the following winter.

The traditional cutting season runs from late autumn until early spring, while the sap is down and the leaves have fallen. At this time the rods are at their most flexible and the bark grips the wood tightly, which matters if you plan to weave rather than merely tie.

• Cut low: take stems back to within 5–10cm of the stool, using sharp bypass secateurs or loppers.
• Sort as you go: bundle long, straight rods separately from short, twiggy material.
• Grade by length: roughly 1.2m, 1.8m and 2.4m bundles cover most garden projects.
• Leave some standing: a few uncut stems will carry the spring catkins and shelter overwintering insects.

Freshly cut willow is at its most pliable. If you cannot use it straight away, stand the bundles in a bucket of water in a cool, shaded spot, or lay them in a shallow trench and cover the butts with damp soil. They will keep for weeks like this and even start to root, which is no bad thing.

Simple Plant Supports

The easiest project of all, and the one that pays for itself every summer, is the woven plant support. Take five or six long rods and push them into the soil around a clump of peonies, dahlias or perennial heleniums, spacing them evenly. Then weave shorter, more flexible rods horizontally between the uprights, over and under in a simple pattern, working up in stages as the plant grows.

Because fresh willow shrinks as it dries, the weave tightens itself and grips the uprights. You will end up with a sturdy, slightly rustic cage that disappears among the foliage by midsummer. There is no plastic, no metal, and when it finally collapses in three or four years you can snap it up and add it to the compost heap or the dead-hedge pile at the back of the border.

A Living Wreath for the Door

A willow wreath is made by bending a single long rod into a circle, then threading further rods around the first, twisting as you go. Work on a flat surface, keep the tension even, and aim for a ring roughly 30–40cm across. A finished base will last for years if you store it dry over summer.

This is where the wildlife gardening really comes into its own. Rather than buying plastic foliage, decorate with what the garden gives you: sprigs of ivy, seed heads from teasels and honesty, dried hydrangea heads, rosehips, and a few stems of moss gathered from a shady wall. Tuck them into the weave so no wire is needed. Hung on a shed door or a porch, a wreath like this provides shelter for overwintering ladybirds and lacewings long after the festive season is over.

Making a Small Woven Hurdle

A hurdle is simply a woven panel, and a small one is a satisfying afternoon's work. You will need two stout uprights — hazel is ideal, though thick willow will do — and around twenty to thirty medium rods.

• Drive the uprights into the ground about 90cm apart, or fix them to a simple frame if the hurdle is to be movable.
• Start at the base with your thickest rod, weaving it in front of one upright and behind the next.
• Alternate the starting side with each new rod so the weave stays balanced and does not lean.
• Tap each row down snugly with a mallet before adding the next.
• Finish by tucking the ends neatly behind the uprights and trimming flush.

A hurdle of this size makes an excellent screen for a bin store, a windbreak for tender herbs, or a rustic edging for a compost bay. Left to weather, it turns a soft silver-grey and lasts several seasons. Better still, a hurdle propped against a wall creates exactly the cool, damp, sheltered nook that frogs, toads and slow-worms adore.

Working with the Season

Willow rewards a little rhythm. Cut in winter, weave in late winter and early spring while the rods are still supple, and leave the stools to grow on through summer. By August you will have a thicket of new stems, humming with insects and rustling with small birds. Come the following January, you start again with a fresh crop.

There is something quietly satisfying about that cycle. The garden feeds the craft, and the craft gives back to the garden — a support for the flowers, a shelter for the wildlife, and a reason to be outside on a cold, bright morning with a bundle of rods and muddy boots.