What’s new in the garden? Not much, really. My garden sits in the Lille region, and you have to admit that in the middle of February it’s a bit dull and dreary. A few Galanthus are showing their white and green bell-shaped flowers, the hellebores begin their lovely season, the wood dogwoods (the show goes on...) display their shimmering colours and... oh yes! What was I thinking? It’s the start of the ament season!
Nothing to do with our whiskered companions, but rather with the blooming of willows. But not just any willows! The first to bloom, and thus to produce these famous aments, are Asian willows. Our native willows (Salix alba, Salix viminalis, Salix fragilis, Salix caprea, Salix aurita…), for their part, are patiently waiting for their moment to flower. Which won’t be long, by the way.
The willow 'Mount Aso'
The Salix chaenomeloides 'Mount Aso' is extraordinary in more ways than one! In season, it forms a handsome shrub about 2.5 m in all directions, in our climate. The green foliage is deciduous and hints at bright red new shoots in winter. But it’s at flowering time that it proves truly spectacular. From February onwards and for several weeks, large fluffy pink-red aments will emerge. It’s stunning both for the colour and for the shrub’s overall silhouette. And all this in a season when little else happens in the garden.
Willow 'Wolf's Claw'
The Salix gracilistyla var. melanostachys (Bless you!) is a willow that looks unimpressive if you don’t pay attention. But if you look closer... I was given a cutting last year; the shrub is therefore still very young. But despite its young age, this willow 'Wolf's Claw' already rewards me with two aments... completely black. All this is borne on very red shoots. I leave you to imagine the beauty of the shrub when it reaches its mature size. I can’t wait to see that in two or three years.
Salix koriyanagi
It’s a Korean willow (also found in China and Japan), little known and hard to obtain outside of a few specialist plant-collectors. I had the good idea to plant a very young specimen about two years ago. And I’m delighted! The young shoots look slender and upright like 'i's. They are used in basketry in Asia. And from February onwards, the shrub is covered with a multitude of mini female aments. A striking visual effect! The deciduous foliage resembles a bit the basket willow (Salix viminalis), but the leaves are smaller and orange at bud burst.
Growing conditions for these 3 willows
All three are very hardy: -15°C without any problem in winter. They require sun and soil that stays cool and moist all season. However, they prove to be quite drought-tolerant once well established. Ordinary soil suits them, regardless of pH. The soil can even be heavy and clayey: in fact, they absolutely love it! An occasional pruning after winter, if you feel the need. They are trouble-free shrubs with fast growth. In short, shrubs that deserve to be planted more widely!
Also discover beautiful aments in Virginie's garden.
February is often a rather dreary month in the garden. Nevertheless, some flowering has begun.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to do some woofing (volunteering) in the Hautes-Alpes with a willow grower – basket maker, and participated in the harvest of willow – I have wonderful memories of a field filled with a multitude of young plants of willows in vibrant colours, red – orange – yellow... a magnificent sight! I learned to make baskets from willow and discovered that living willow hedges or huts can be a stunning decorative element in a garden.
What is referred to as "willow" is Salix intended for weaving. Willow is interesting because it is very flexible and strong. It has long, slender branches that are weakly ramified and easy to weave. It is a deciduous plant: if you create a hut or a hedge from willow, it will be more open in winter, allowing views through the branches. Willow also has the advantage of providing beautiful wood and light, tender green foliage. There are many different species and varieties used for basketry, selected based on their colour and characteristics.
You can do a lot with willow! Sculptures, huts, hedges, arbors, tipis, borders... It is truly possible to have fun and create original elements! Basketry is a beautiful way to combine art and gardening. A few willow objects in a garden add a lot of charm, with a unique and creative touch.
Examples of living willow creations
How to create a living willow hedge?
A living willow hedge is ideal for separating different areas of the garden or creating a boundary along the edge of a property. Very aesthetic, it adorns itself with tender green foliage in spring, and in autumn-winter, this disappears to beautifully reveal the colour of the wood and the detail of the weaving. The advantage is that you can create a custom hedge, with the height you desire, and personalise it.
Willow is a plant that does not like drought: living willow basketry is therefore more suited to soils that remain relatively cool in summer. Willow also prefers deep soils. Some willow producers sell long stems intended for the creation of a hedge. They should measure between 1 and 2 metres in length, depending on the desired height of the hedge. If you do not plant them immediately, you can temporarily keep the stems (for about two weeks) by placing them outside in a shaded spot, with the base of the stems in water. The varieties that seem most suitable for living basketry are Salix alba 'Vitellina' and Salix fragilis.
A living willow hedge. The stems are woven two by two, crossing alternately over and under another pair of stems. (photo: Hugues-Mircea Paillet)
Plant between autumn and the end of winter, when the plant is in its dormant phase and no longer has leaves. We recommend weaving the stems two by two for added strength, although a single stem weaving may suffice for a small project.
- To plant a hedge, you should start by working the soil to loosen it while adding some well-decomposed compost. Work the area to about thirty centimetres in width and depth.
- Place a stake at each end of the hedge, then intermediate stakes spaced a few metres apart. Use a string line to ensure you plant straight.
- Stretch two horizontal wires between the stakes (at the top and in the middle) to provide stability to the hedge.
- Plant the willow stems along the string line, with the buds facing upwards. You can plant them in pairs for a small project, but we recommend grouping them in fours for a proper hedge. They should be buried 20 to 30 cm in the soil.
- Weave by taking one stem (if you planted them in pairs) or two stems (if they are in fours) each time. Cross the stems, placing them alternately underneath and then above each other. The space – the void – between the stems should form diamonds. You can secure the stems each time they cross by tying them with a raffia or willow tie.
- When you reach the end of a row (at a stake), secure the stems to the stake and then go back in the opposite direction and continue weaving.
- Water generously.
Continue to water during the first year. Willow is a fast-growing plant: it is advisable to prune it each year, in winter and possibly in summer. You can apply mulch at the base to limit weeding and keep the soil cool.
Different stages of weaving a living willow hedge (photos: Hugues-Mircea Paillet)
Further reading...
- Our range of willows and our pre-woven willows
- To discover all the techniques: "I Weave Living Willow - 10 Models to Create in Your Garden" - Terre Vivante
- Discover the basketry and weaving magazine - The Creative Link
- The website of Tresselavie, which offers training and workshops in basketry
- The website of the association The Possible Willow Grove
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to do some woofing (volunteering) in the Hautes-Alpes with a willow grower – basket maker, and participated in the harvest of willow – I have wonderful memories of a field filled with a multitude of young plants of willows in vibrant colours, red – orange – yellow… […]
I had the opportunity to learn basketry a few years ago while volunteering with a basketmaker who grows willow. This technique, which consists of weaving plants, is an art accessible to everyone and requires little in the way of resources (and few tools)... Especially as plants suitable for weaving are easy to find in the wild! There is something quite fascinating about assembling the rods, passing them over and under one another, and watching an object gradually take shape. Basketry is a task of patience. It is a craft that is disappearing, and basketmakers have become quite rare in France, because the craft is time-consuming and therefore costly... However, for personal use it is still possible to have fun weaving willow!
Basketry consists of weaving rods by passing them from one side to the other around fixed vertical rods that serve as uprights (photo Marthe Lelievre)
Various uses in the garden
Basketry is often used to make willow baskets, but you can also create many items for the garden: a nest box for birds, supports for climbing plants, partitions to separate different parts of the garden, small edging for flowerbeds... Hedges, screens, arbors, pergolas, tipis, playhouses for children... Just let your imagination run free! Basketry makes it possible to create genuine works of art and plant sculptures. Possibilities are endless, and woven objects fit easily into garden furniture.
Willow fits easily into garden settings! Left, in the garden "A la recherche du lupin blanc", at Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Festival (2017). Right, in front of Ecole Nationale de vannerie de Fayl-Billot (photo Ji-Elle).
A small willow edging can be integrated into a garden to define flowerbeds, for example (photo: Hugues-Mircea Paillet)
Weaving a willow edging (photo: Hugues-Mircea Paillet)
Grow your own willow?
The willow rods used for basketry are actually branches of willow intended for weaving. It is perfectly possible to grow willow for this purpose. Many varieties exist, which allows you to obtain different colours! Species commonly used are Salix triandra, Salix purpurea, Salix alba and Salix viminalis, and one of the best varieties for basketry is Salix triandra 'Noir de Villaines'. Willow multiplies very easily by propagation by cuttings, and many willow growers and basketmakers sell cuttings. Feel free to grow willow: besides providing material for weaving, it can be used for medicinal purposes (its bark contains salicylic acid, close to aspirin), for RCW (mulch) or as a rooting stimulant to help your cuttings take root (willow water can replace rooting hormone). Plant preferably at the end of winter, around March, in deep soil that stays relatively cool in summer. You can also buy willow rods ready for weaving directly from basketmakers! You can find raw, natural willow rods and rods from which the bark has been removed to obtain a white-coloured rod.
A willow bed: willow cultivation intended for basketry (photo Ji-Elle) / Bundles of willow rods ready for weaving (photo Marthe Lelievre). White rods are peeled willow, from which bark has been removed.
... or harvest it in the wild?
You can easily find wild willow suitable for weaving. Species used for basketry (Salix alba, S. purpurea, S. viminalis and S. triandra) grow wild in France, mainly along watercourses. You can look for and harvest them. Choose the longest, straightest, relatively thin branches. And although willow is by far the most used species in basketry, many other plants can be used! These include hedge clematis, dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), hazel, honeysuckle, hops and rush, to name a few. You can even mix several species to obtain different colours, for example by using some dogwood branches within a willow structure.
Harvesting is done from late November–early December through to February, when the plant is dormant (leaves have fallen and sap has not yet risen).
A basket I made / a nest box for birds
Further reading...
Basketry is a somewhat technical art... If you are interested, many basketmakers offer workshops or training! Also discover books written on the subject.
- La Vannerie Sauvage, by Bernard Bertrand, published by Editions de Terran. A superb book in two volumes that explains how to weave wild plants. Each volume comes with a DVD.
- Ecole Nationale d'Osiériculture et de Vannerie in Fayl-Billot, unique of its kind, offers courses that prepare students for the profession of basketmaker.
- Website of Tresselavie, which offers workshops and training
- Website of L’Oseraie du possible, a basketmakers' collective
I had the opportunity to learn basketry a few years ago while volunteering with a basketmaker who grows willow. This technique, which consists of weaving plants, is an art accessible to everyone and requires little in the way of resources (and few tools)… Especially as plants suitable for weaving are easy to find in the […]
In the garden, hazels offer their innumerable pendulous aments, before the willows enter the dance with their silky inflorescences... The season of aments is upon us! Yellow, purple, silver... they are very decorative and spectacular in the setting sun. I invite you to discover some of these catkin-bearing shrubs, some very well known, others much less so.
1. Hazels
The hazel aments are highlighted by the sunlight. Here: Corylus avellana 'Contorta'.
At the moment, hazels are dressed in their finest green-yellow or reddish aments depending on the species.
The purple aments of Corylus maxima 'Red Majestic'.
This hazel with sinuous branches has the remarkable feature of spring foliage that is vividly purple and reddish aments of the finest effect! It can perfectly be included in an informal hedge. Its only fault (if there is one) is that it does not stay purple all season, but you should know that it makes up for it with its autumn colours.
2. Willows
They are undoubtedly my favourites when it comes to aments! To begin with, their early flowering provides pollen and nectar in abundance as winter ends. Bees buzz with happiness! Next, their silky aments are really beautiful and photogenic. Finally, willows thrive in my damp soil, which is a considerable advantage. I always advise my customers to favour plants suited to their garden! It saves many disappointments...
- Salix caprea
How can one talk about aments without mentioning the famous goat willow? It is the very first to flower!
Bees delight in foraging the willows' aments (Salix caprea).
The variety 'Kilmarnock' with trailing branches becomes adorned with large silver aments in February–March.
It is also known as the willow "Wolf's Claw" and is really easy to grow. My specimen, derived from a cutting a gardening friend gave me, is now several years old. It is a handsome shrub about 3 m tall which I prune to keep a transparent habit so that a few sunbeams reach the plants at its base. Each year, in March, I photograph its incredible black aments with reddish anthers heavily visited by foragers.
The distinctive black aments of Salix gracilistyla (Melanostachys).
It flowers a little later than the other willows since its catkins appear in March–April. This willow offers fabulous dark pink aments that are the talk of bouquets. It has a rightful place in a hedge, but I find its beauty is better showcased when planted as a standalone specimen, positioned so that the sun’s rays rising or setting illuminate the catkins.
The softness of the pink aments of Salix chaenomeloides 'Mount Aso'.
3. Garrya elliptica
Little known, the Garrya elliptica features long grey-silvery aments shaded with pink that stand out well from its evergreen foliage, in February–March.
Garry Elliptica (Photo Andy Andrew Fogg on Flickr)
Michael once dedicated a post to it: "The Garrya elliptica, a flowering shrub in winter." Ten years ago, I would probably have said that my climate wouldn’t suit it given its somewhat borderline hardiness (-12°C) for the Ardennes. Today, given that we hardly have proper winters any more, I could probably give it a go. But first, I’d need to find it a well-drained spot, which isn’t easy! In short, I’d be tempted to train it against a wall... Now to find a wall still available!
4. Stachyurus praecox
Even more obscure, Stachyurus praecox also releases long strings of pale yellow beads in March–April. I still remember the first time I discovered this wonder. It was in the exquisite book by Princess Sturdza, "A Garden for All Seasons".
Stachyurus praecox (photo Katja Schulz on Flickr)
The variety 'Celina' offers charming cream-white bells in March.
Inflorescences of Stachyurus chinensis 'Celina' (photo Peganum on Flickr).
The housing crisis is looming! I’ll have to push the garden's boundaries to plant all my desires... But I imagine that’s the concern of all garden enthusiasts!
In the garden, hazels offer their innumerable pendulous aments, before the willows enter the dance with their silky inflorescences… The season of aments is upon us! Yellow, purple, silver… they are very decorative and spectacular in the setting sun. I invite you to discover some of these catkin-bearing shrubs, some very well known, others much […]
