Living willow hut

Down the side of the house, there's an odd area which isn't really useful for much. It's got the house blocking sun from the east, and fences blocking sun from the south and west. So I'm planning on constructing/growing a living willow hut there, which will be a nice place to sit out of the sun on a hot summer's day. (Yes, they do happen occasionally! It's something I've wanted to do ever since I first saw one at the Eden Project, and this seems like the perfect opportunity.

Whilst it's shaded at ground level, of course there'll be plenty of light once the willow gets above fence height, so I'm not too worried about that.

I'm currently clearing all the weeds off the area. The plan is to dig out enough top soil so I can put down a membrane and top that with at least 3" of wood chips. That should make it pleasant to walk around in, and stop weeds invading.

If anyone has done this, do you have any advice for what else I should be thinking about? Anything else I need to do to make this practical?

 

Willow is natural a fantastic building material although i read Rabbits and deer are partial to willow, protection may well be necessary. Also it can be attacked byWillow aphids which are brownish-black and may affect willow plants in late summer. Stems may become sticky and sooty and mould . Use any aphid control product. Because Wasps may be attracted to honeydew the aphids produce, but if aphids are controlled wasps will not be a problem also look at this site

Living willow / RHS Gardening
www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=588
Living willow. Willow (Salix) is one of nature's colourful and adaptable building materials. It is easy and fun to create willow hedges, bowers, dens, arbours and walkways. For the more adventurous, wigwams, chairs and sofas would be challenging projects. You can make garden rooms, create childrens' play areas and provide privacy more quickly

All the best with your project it be lovely

 

Thanks for that link, Janet. It's in our back garden, so deer and rabbits aren't an issue.

I did notice their advice about distance from the house. They say 10m from a house or wall, which for many people rules out the entire garden! The nearest side of the hut (which will be quite open, so less willow on that side) will be about 2m from the house, and even the far side will only be about 5m. But then I've also read that willow has a tap root, so there should be less of an issue with roots going sideways, shouldn't there?

Also does anyone have any advice about varieties to use? I'm happy for this to establish more slowly if it means there's less pruning needed further down the line. What I've found online about willow seems to be more geared to people coppicing annually.

 

So the mission is on.

Chapter 1. Down to the garden, we've just begun.

Chapter 2. The nettles are through.

(Next steps..)

Chapter 3. Hire a grinder for the stump of tree.

Chapter 4. Move the topsoil off the floor.

Chapter 5. Spread 3" of bark so weeds don't thrive.

Chapter 6. Plant willow sticks.

 

graham well done good planning hope it goes well i soon be starting in the garden as now i got to isolate myself

 

Good luck in isolation, Janet! Don't get the

 

With things the way they are, I can't justify getting wood chips delivered. Not fair on the delivery guys. But before things got totally locked down, I ordered the bare root willow. All in the ground, and now I just have to wait for them to grow!

I got salix daphnoides, which is a bit smaller than other willows. It might take longer to make the hut, but it'll hopefully be lower maintenance. The stems are also a beautiful shade of dark purple. It's a little late for bare root trees, but hopefully they'll make it. Willow is pretty tough.

 

Oh, and whilst clearing 4" of topsoil to put down mulch was the right thing to do, I didn't think enough about just how much topsoil that amounted to. Oops. It was good exercise - don't need another workout tonight!