Living Willow from Willows Nursery

Willow Orders for Schools & Nurseries
 

Please Note : Living willow orders are only available
for delivery and planting from early December to late February.

Please Note : Living willow orders are only available
for delivery and planting from early December to late February.

We sell many of our living willow structure kits to Schools and Nurseries.  As well as providing long term, living play areas in which to have fun, they are also being included in wildlife and sensory gardens, with their construction, maintenance and observation of growth being related to the national curriculum in many ways.

At the end of the 2004/5 season we provided Teachers TV with a living willow dome/playhouse kit to be featured in their Resource Review series, which highlighted the use of willow structures for outside play and learning.

To grow willow from unrooted cuttings or whips, the willow should be cut and planted after leaf fall and before leaf bud – that would usually mean early December to late February.

We provide simple basic Living Willow Kits that can create attractive structures very easily.  If necessary, one person alone can ‘build’ a living willow structure and probably take less than an hour to do so (if the ground preparation has already been done) – there is no need for any previous experience or particular skill. They are very easy to make !

Of course, it is more fun if there are more people – and the children can be involved to a great extent.  The willow is very flexible and forgiving and detailed instructions are provided with the kits.  If you have clear ideas on the type of structure you want to create and also wish to involve the children in the design process too, then order individual whips according to the lengths required.

Having had the fun of creating the living willow structure in the winter, there is then the pleasure to be gained from seeing the new growth start in the spring and then weaving it in as the growth becomes longer to make a denser more enclosed area.

The children can observe the effect of the changing seasons on their structure and, of course, it will continue to be a useful (and fun) resource for years to come.

Our Living Willow and Kits have been ordered for Schools by both Teachers directly and Parents Groups.

How To Order :
If you would like to pay when placing the order, either order online through the secure shop or give us a call – a receipt will be provided. However, if you would like to pay on a Proforma Invoice, just get in touch with the order details and we can arrange that for you.

Delivery :
We start cutting and sending out orders after leaf fall, which is generally at the end of November.  Some schools like to take delivery as soon as possible whilst others prefer to delay delivery until the New Year – either is fine, we will send the willow to suit your planting plans.

However, even if you do not want the willow until late in the season, please order as soon as you can as we often sell out before the end of the cutting season !

Other Ideas :
When some Schools have wanted to create secluded class size teaching areas larger than is possible with a Living Willow Dome they have planted a ‘Fedge’ as a circle.

If you are able to come and collect your order then we would be happy to see you – with small groups of children if you wish.

Please feel free to telephone if you would like to discuss your own design ideas or any aspects of your order.

This photograph shows how Cassie Liversidge, Paul the Gardener
and the children at Chisenhale Primary School in London have put
two of our ‘Adapted’ Dome Kits (WK107) plus some extra whips to an
imaginative use in the limited planting space of their playground.

If you and the children at your school would like to similarly adapt or enhance our kits with your own design features (such as windows or
other woven features) we are happy to provide the extra willow
necessary and offer advice.

A Living Willow Wigwam Kit (WK100)

 

A standard Dome Kit (WK105) combined with a Mini Tunnel Kit (WK110) to create a living willow igloo.

 
 

A Standard Dome Kit (WK105) combined with 4 x Fedge A Kits (WK104A) to create an enclosed living willow area.
(Shown as just planted and then in mid June).

 

Most of the kits on this page were photographed as just planted in December, January or February.

By May the living willow structures will show lots of new green growth, and by July there will be enough long
new growth to start to weave it in and out to thicken up the structures and to make them more enclosed. 

 

Please visit our How to make . . . . .   pages that show how easy living willow structures are to make (and also to see more photographs of completed structures).

Please visit our Living Willow Kit Prices page for full details of the kits we offer – they include all of the willow whips needed to make straightforward simple structures, biodegradable twine for initial securing and detailed planting instructions.

or visit our Other Willow Prices page if you have your own design ideas and would like to order whips individually.

Please also see our FAQ’s page for further information and advice.

There are photographs of living willow structures throughout our website, but you can see more in our

Living Willow Dome & Bower Gallery, Living Willow Tunnel Gallery and Living Willow Fedge Gallery.


Whilst we mainly sell willow for 'living' projects (where the willow will root and grow) we can also supply willow for 'dead' weaving. 

Please visit our page on willow weaving for more information.