Wonderful Willow from Windmill

Each year, there's a rhythm to the work we need to do at Windmill, and at this time of year, it's all about willow. We have a living willow arch and a fedge (living willow fence / hedge), which both need to be harvested for willow poles and then to have the thinner branches woven into the structure to strengthen it and help it grow nice and thick. The harvested poles can be used as living willow, and also to weave edges for our herb beds. They also make good plant supports, as long as we let them dry enough not to grow roots!




This year, we had a good team of Matt, Ash, Dan, Saana, Greg and Matt P, so we managed to get the whole lot done in one go, and it's now looking very organised and healthy. The cut branches are waiting to be used and the pussy willow from the ends is cut and ready for a rather special role.

We've always had the aim to use our resources at Windmill to benefit the community, so when members of the Ukrainian Church asked if we had any pussy willow available some years ago, we said "Of course. Take what you need!" Since then, Maria and Gary have been coming along every year to harvest the pussy willow in the weeks before the Ukrainian Church celebrates Palm Sunday (a week later than the Church of England).

Maria and Gary

This year, we asked if they could let us see how the willow is used, so they sent us some great photos to show us and the following explanation -

As you can see when the palms have been blessed, the people take them and it is tradition to put them over religious icons in the home.Palms were apparently hard to get in Ukraine in days of old, so willow branches were substituted, Pussy willows are the preferred branch, but ordinary willows will do in a pinch.  Long branches are cut, and are blessed during the mass.  They are then passed out, and people (mostly young ones) then go around hitting each other with them and saying: 

Не я б’ю,

Верба б’є,                    

За тиждень Великдень

Не далеко червоне яєчко!                    

Which translates to 

                    It’s not me hitting you, 

                    It’s the willow hitting you, 

                    In a week it will be Easter,

                    Soon you will have a red egg.

We love this tradition, and the tradition of the gathering that is has created in our Community Gardens, and our volunteers love the generous gifts of food and chocolates that we get in return!

We've also given willow for making willow domes and supplying a local willow worker with materials for weaving and live willow work.

All hail the workers!

Wow! What a day! We have just finished an amazingly productive session with the help of Gateway to Nature, and all that work was done in between downpours and a massive hail storm. And we even managed a gourmet lunch in the middle of it all (gardening Windmill-style - we love it!).

Our goals for the day were to put in a wildlife pond and to renew the willow-weave edging around one of the herb beds. 

The pond is something that Lizzy and Chris were really keen for us to have, so it's great to be at this stage. It will give another good spot for wildlife in the allotment and hopefully increase the frog population so they can help with the slugs! Laurence is really interested in wildlife and has put in a few ponds before, so he agreed to lead the team.

Laurence checks the levels of the
pond edges.

Stabilising the sides of the pond.

Putting in the pond liner.

The pond is nearly finished- and quite a bit of that water
is from melted hail!

Putting in the new edge to the herb bed was really satisfying, because all the resources we needed were taken from our own coppiced and pollarded willow, literally from within 10m of the bed! The last time we created woven beds, the willow was left over from a weaving project and came from Somerset, so we have managed to be a lot nearer to carbon-neutral this time.

The method is simple, with stakes knocked into the ground and then more willow woven around these in a rough basket style, a little like a very low hurdle. We first cut stakes. Because willow is so good at growing from cuttings we shaved the bark from the part of the stake that would be below ground so that there is no danger of them making roots.

Shaving the bark from willow stakes.

Hammering the stakes into the ground

Starting the first weaving of the willow.

The completed bed. Brian the snail approves!

Hassan plants up the lettuce in the
warmth of the polytunnel.

A huge thank you to the volunteers and the Gateway to Nature folk for such hard work and for your stamina in difficult weather. Thanks also to Hassan, who made sure that the growing remit of Windmill wasn't forgotten in all the rushing about. And a final thank you to Paul, who has been such a great chef for our lunches over the last few months. You will be sorely missed, but we hope you have a great time visiting  your family in the US.