GROWING WILLOW FOR BASKETRY

Planting basketry willow for the first time you may have a few questions and I will try to answer some of them here:
1. How many do I need to plant for me to have enough for baskets?
     Well, that depends on several factors such as:
    a) Willow variety and growing conditions: Different willow varieties produce differently.
        Some have a few rods per plant and some have a lot. Some produce mostly larger rods and
        some produce mostly shorter rods. 
        Growing conditions vary from location to location and also from year to year.  Moisture, temperatures,
        soils are just some deciding factors.
    b) Basket designs: Different designs require different sizes and amount of weavers.
    c) Size of baskets: Small baskets require smaller weavers and larger baskets larger and/or more weavers
    d) How many baskets annually
        If you have already made your first few baskets, you will have an idea about what you want to do
        and be able to make decisions based on that. If not, I suggest that you start with  50-100 plants and find
        out if you want more later.
2. How much space do I need in the garden to grow willows for basketry?
    Of course that also depends on how many plants you want. In general though, you need much less space
    than most people think.
    Basketry willow is planted close to force the willow to grow long, straight rods without side shoots. 
    I plant the willows in the field 50 cm (20") between the rows and 25 cm (10") apart in the row.
3. Can I plant the willow in a shaded spot?
    Willow requires sun to perform well. So to give your willow the absolutely best growing conditions, you
    need to give them at least half a day of direct sun during the summer.
4. Does willow require a lot of water?
    As the dormant willow cuttings, that you plant, doesn't have any roots yet, it is very important that the
    soil surrounding them stay moist ALL THE TIME during the first growing season. After that they don't
    require more watering than anything else in your garden.
    It is good idea to plant the cuttings in some kind of mulch. See blog post about propagating willow.
5. Which of your willow varieties are best for basketry? 
    The willow varieties listed under "Willows good for basketry" are ALL good for that.
     However, I do have my favourites and this year we are offering 2 different selections of my best basketry
     willow as a package. 
     Information about the selections here on my website.



Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

NEWS for the New Year

On the first day of the year 2018 I want to wish you all a WONDERFUL, HEALTHY, HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR!

Always lots of thoughts, plans and expectations for the new year. On this day we also have some for sure great news for everybody who loves working with willow.

I believe that we - when we teach willow basketry - need to make sure that our followers also are able to purchase dried willow to work with on their own. That has been very limited in North America. Some of you are able to grow basketry willow for your own use. That is wonderful and I am excited to be able to provide you with dormant willow cuttings of some great basketry willow for planting.

For those of you who are not able to - or don't want to - grow your own basketry willow this is the good news:

After two years with less than desired harvests due to drought and unusual high temperatures during the summer, we finally have a normal harvest in sight. This means that we are able to take orders for our own dried basketry willow again. 

Our willow is grown without use of any pesticides, harvested, sorted and dried WITH the bark on. That is how I get the natural colours and shine on my baskets which is not treated with anything - but loving thoughts while being created! No dyeing, wax or lacquer!

Note that the colours you see on just harvested willow (or willow cuttings for planting) is not the same as you get in your basket. The willow changes colours several times. In winter, when it is dormant around harvest time, the colours have intensified. Then the colours will change dramatically during the drying process. Then they change again during the re-soaking process and finally they change when they dry again. In addition to that the growing conditions make a difference and sometimes you will see that one variety doesn't look like it did from other years' harvests. Or like the same variety growing on your friend's property!

A few examples of natural willow colours. 

SO THIS IS EXCITING NEWS, BUT THERE IS MORE!
We now have imported BUFF AND WHITE willow for sale!

 

Although I love my natural willow with the bark on, I do realize that debarked willow - BUFF AND WHITE - do have advantages in some ways and that that will appeal to many basket makers.

Here are a few comparisons:
SOAKING TIME:
NATURAL WILLOW: days or weeks depending on a few factors.
BUFF AND WHITE: less than an hour
LEFT OVER WILLOW AFTER BASKET IS MADE:
NATURAL WILLOW: you don't want to re-soak as there is a big risk that the bark will get loose. If you have room in your freezer, you can keep it there.
BUFF AND WHITE: you can re-soak the willow with no risk.
UNFINISHED BASKET:
NATURAL WILLOW: if you cannot finish your (stake and strand) basket and don't have room in your freezer for it until you have time, it is impossible to finish it later. If you try to re-soak the whole basket, bark may come off and then it is not so beautiful anymore.
BUFF AND WHITE: you can just put it aside and re-soak the top or the whole thing when you are ready to finish it.
COLOURS:
NATURAL WILLOW: you have a variety of the most beautiful natural colours.
BUFF AND WHITE: the golden brown of the buff willow. The white willow can be dyed with natural or commercial dyes.
PREPARATION/WAIT TIME:
NATURAL WILLOW: when you decide to make a basket, you have to wait several days before the willow is soaked.
BUFF AND WHITE: you want to make a basket, put some willow in water for less than an hour, and you are ready to weave.

For more information about dried willow for sale, take a look at my website here.







Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Willow basket weaving – baskets on a Catalan base

After a wonderful day making Tatza baskets, Saturday and Sunday were a two-day class on baskets on a Catalan base taught by Danish basket maker Anne Mette Hjornholm.

Once again we started out in the barn working on the Catalan base for our baskets. The Catalan base is  beautiful and very versatile and baskets were made of different designs from a large, beautiful oval basket to purses of various shapes and weaving techniques.

Later we moved out to work in the shade of our old weeping willow and the heat wasn’t quite as unbearable there.

By the end of the day you feel kind of “sticky” and Anne Mette and Jane decided to go for a swim in the lake. You can barely see their heads as two little, black dots in the picture.

 

 

In addition to the willow weaving experience of this class old friends enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together doing one of the things that they like - making willow baskets – while chatting and exchanging news.

Everyone had a great time learning new skills and enjoying each other’s company.

 

Most of us chose to make a purse during this class and here is an example of an open, fitched purse.

Other purses had a closed weave and patterns were created using different weaving techinques and different willow varieties for colour:

 

Really, working and creating with willow is absolutely wonderful

Planting willow in your garden for colour?

It is not unusual to find articles in gardening magazines showing the very colourful stems of willow in the wintertime and most often the featured willows are varieties or hybrids of “white willow”, Salix alba.
Here are a few pointers that are often overlooked.
First of all it is ONLY the growth from the previous growing season that has colour. If you leave your willow shrub unpruned, you will end up with a large shrub with a few small, colourful tips during winter. Therefore – to really get a beautiful colour display you should coppice (cut down to the ground) the plants late winter/early spring as they will grow long shoots during one growing season and they will all have coloured bark. To make a real statement you could plant several plants of the same variety close together (about 30 cm/1foot apart). If you have a small garden and are worried that planting several willows will be too much for your other plants, you can repeat the coppicing (cutting down to the ground) in early summer. Supposedly (and I say that because I don’t have any personal experience/knowledge of this, but have read about it) the willow will not develop a large root if it has to use energy on new growth once or even twice annually.
In my opinion it is not only for winter colour that you plant willow in the garden. Many of the willows have very beautiful foliage, form and colour throughout the year. To illustrate this I have found a few photos:
I will start with Salix x ‘Flame’ as that one is often mentioned as a candidate for winter colour.By the time the leaves drop off, the bark has developed some colour that will intensify as the weather gets colder.
 
Salix x ‘Flame’ has beautifully coloured leaves in spring and early summer and the stem colours will vary from a light greenish/yellow/orange to a darker reddish brown. The two photos marked July 2012 are of the same plant, but photographed from the North and South sides of the plant. The more sun that the plant gets the darker the colour during the summer and these stems are darker on one side than on the other.
Another willow that has been planted in a lot of gardens during the last few years is the dabbled willow, Salix integra ‘Hakuro Nishiki’. A large shrub with pink shoots can look very beautiful, but as you can see on the following photo this willow can also be planted in your mixed bed, coppiced annually and it just looks lovely.
 

The variegated leaves are beautiful and the tip of the branches continue to be of an almost coppery colour during the summer. After the leaves have dropped the stems on this willow is a paler reddish brown.
One of my favourite willows (I have quite a few) is Salix koriyanagi ‘Rubykins’. It grows tall and slender one year rods when coppiced at the end of winter.

The very first leaves in spring are an incredible coral/peachy colour. Later the leaves are darker green, but the tips of the branches remain very colourful as you can see on the photo. Maybe that explains the name ‘Rubykins’? The last two photos show the light green colour of the stem. That is also the colour that the stems have during winter.


The last variety featured today is Salix x acutifolia
 

The winter colour of acutifolia is a very unusual and pretty dark purple that gets a bloom – a whitish waxy covering. If the plant is not coppiced the colour of the two year old branches will look almost as if they have been white washed. On the second photo you can see the red stems on the new growth and at the bottom of the photo you can see the two year old whitish stems (it is a braided Harlequin tree)

Willow Gathering in Decorah, Iowa June 2012

Wednesday morning, June 20th at 6 am Jennifer, Frances and I began our 13 hour drive from Strathroy, Ontario to Decorah, Iowa to participate in 4 days of willow classes.

The Willow Gathering was arranged by Jo Campbell-Amsler of Willow Ridge Basketry, Monticello, Iowa and Lee Zieke Lee of Willowglen Nursery, Decorah, Iowa and took place at the wonderful venue of Luther College, Decorah.

I was told that Decorah started as a Norwegian settlement as the landscape to a certain extent resembled their Scandinavian homeland - and still 2/3 of the population has Norwegian roots.

The college is built with a lot of reference to Scandinavian design and lifestyle.

 

 

The residences that we stayed at were wonderful 4 or 6 bedroom houses close to the Shirley Baker Commons where the classes were held.

The housing sections all had Norwegian names – we stayed at Trondheim.

 

 

 

The photos in this post are all from the classes that I participated in: 2 two day classes with Katherine Lewis of Dunbar Gardens Willow Baskets, Mount Vernon, WA

The beautiful hat (fashionista) was made by Donna Kallner of Donna Kallner Fiber Art and it is made with silk dyed with willow. Donna Kallner taught 2 two day classes in fiber art using willow for coiling and for dying silk.

The third teacher who taught at the gathering (there were other willow basket teachers at the gathering,  but not teaching here) was Sandy Whalen, Milford, Michigan. Please see information about Sandy Whalen on Jo Campbell-Amsler’s web-site, under information about the Willow Gathering as I cannot find more detailed information about Sandy Whalen on-line.

I was happy to learn a couple of new techniques by Katherine Lewis.

Our first basket was a “rope coil” basket, the technique developed by the Danish basket maker Klaus Titze who calls them “rolling baskets”.

On the left is a photo of our almost finished baskets and my finished basket in the photo on the right. I really like the look of this technique and it can be applied to lots of different shapes – also larger outdoor work as for example a woven fence.

The technique for the magazine basket is also new for me. A scallom is cut at the end of the stakes before they are attached to the base which is woven on an oval ring. I like the end result – although I have to admit that I am a bit “knife shy” so the cutting process was somewhat slow for me.

The coracle in the photo at the right was launched in one of the ponds on campus and Poppy Hatinger – who has been involved in a couple of coracle projects – had a lovely presentation for us about the world of coracles and how to make them. Donna Kallner has a few blog postings about it here.

A wonderful trip – worth all the kilometers – spending days with other willow basket makers, teachers, students in beautiful surroundings, learning and making new friends and valuable contacts.

END Of THE WILLOW WINTER COLOUR

The season for dormant willow cuttings and rods is over for this year at Lakeshore willows and the last shipments were sent out April 30th.
The beautiful winter colours on the cuttings are slowly fading on the willow that is drying in the barn for basketry.




Soon new colours will be visible in the field as the foliage on the plants start to show.


Is your garden too small for planting willows? It may be; but it is also very likely that it is not – you just need to know how to do it.
For ideas on how to ad year round colour from willows to your small garden I will be writing a couple of posts over the next few weeks.

Spring 2012 workshops

Living willow workshops for the spring 2012 have now been scheduled. You will have a choice of making the woven "Harlequin tree", the twisted (or roped) tree or both at the workshops.
Kits of rods for both designs will also be available for purchase at the workshops in case you would like to make one or more after you return home.
For more information please look under the tab "Events" at the top of the page.

I am excited to be able to announce the visit here at Lakeshore Willows by the very accomplished and internationally known willow artist Anne Mette Hjørnholm from Denmark. Anne Mette will be teaching a basket class here on the week-end May 26-27 2012 - details to be announced.

This is one example of Anne Mette's beautiful work. If you could be interested in participating, here is a link to the gallery on her web-site. By clicking on an image you will open a related photo album.
Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Taking orders for Willow cuttings and rods 2012

The winter - so far - has been mild with weather conditions changing almost daily. During January we had temperatures ranging from 15 degrees Celsius to -17 (+ the effect of the wind chill), sunny days, rainy days, snowy days, very windy days and a few days like today starting out looking like a dense snowstorm, then suddenly more and more blue appearing in the sky with bright sun and temperatures just above freezing. The snow probably won't stay long this time either.

These conditions have made it possible for us to start harvesting the willow already and we are now taking orders for willow cuttings and rods. Delivery can take place anytime you wish until the end of April. If you order - and receive cuttings before you are ready to plant them - don't worry, they will keep just fine wrapped in dark plastic and stored in your fridge. Prices and information about availability and kits for living willow trees can be found at the top of the page under "Cuttings and whips"!

The fairly wet snow coming down this morning blanketed and hugged the willow in the garden. Beautiful!

The smaller willow Salix eleagnos (often called rosemary willow, but it is not Salix rosemarinifolia) has narrow green leaves resembling the leaves on rosemary. Cuppiced each year the shrub grows to a height of about 75cm (under 3 feet) and I grow some as a low, natural hedge. The winter bark on S. eleagnos i very dark  brown almost black with dark red bud scales.

The trunk of the woven willow trees lend themselves to some beautiful snow covered images. Salix x acutifolia is a more vigorous willow, its first growth in spring a bright wine red with almost lime coloured new leaves. Later the foliage colour gets a bit darker, but the branches stay a wine red colour during summer. As the leaves fall the colours of the bark change to a dark purple, almost black. The following year the bark on last years growth develops a bloom that gives them a whitewashed look. Older bark  is black as seen on the image on left. The branches on the image to the right show winter bark on one year old shoots. 

A woven or twisted tree looks especially

beautiful in this variety of willow and grown as a shrub in the garden it ads beautiful colour year round. 

Salix alba 'Sericea' has intense dark orange coloured  winter bark. As other alba hybrids it tends to grow with lots of side branches (even when coppiced) so it is not the best willow to grow for basketry. It is great though, to have a few bundles of rods to ad some colour variations to certain baskets. For that purpose I have to cut the side branches off for use as weavers - and I only get a few for my own use. It is far too much work!

Living willow fence in snow.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.