Living Willow:

These first two videos look at the steps to set up and begin installing a dome.

This is not the dome that all the rest of the videos follow; the video I made over on site that incorporated many of these steps was lost. Thus I made these to ensure any gaps were filled. There is some overlap, with some points being repeated in the videos that follow. If you encounter any repetition, look on it as a little bit of revision.

This video builds on the set up with some detailed advice  concerning how to lay position the frame sticks at the crown.

Here I outline how to make a template that will speed up your set up and installation of the frame sticks. This is worthwhile if you are going to be installing a number of domes.

Here I look at the conditions of the site and discuss the compromises that have to be made sometimes with installation locations.

At this point in the early build I look at the ground spike that I am using. This is a particularly wide one because of the thickness of the foraged living willow that I am using. The ground is very soft and I am driving this into 14 inch depth. Under normal circumstances 12 inches woud be plenty for frame sticks and 8 inches should be sufficient for lattice sticks. Ground conditions can of course affect this.

The first four sticks of the set in the ground, and are paired up and weaved together. This is a very important foundation for the rest of the framework coming into place.

Once the frame is fully complete, its important to look at the curvature of the sticks as they come round. Do they form a consistent profile ground around the edge of the frame? This is the point where adjustments need to be made before the lattice sticks are put in.

Here one of the sticks needed to be adjusted to keep the outside curve of the dome shape in tact.

Now that the frame is adjusted , we are ready to go on to the next stage.

At this point I review quantity of frame sticks and lattice sticks.

When I do a quick calculation of how many sticks I need for a lattice, I generally multiply the diameter by 3 (to get a rough circumference) and divide it by 30cm and multiply by 2 (lattice sticks are in pairs)  to find out how many lattice sticks I should need and add in half a dozen extra for good measure.

The entrance can get a lot of wear with children pulling on it to get out or leaning on it. It's important to reinforce it. with extra hoops or with lattice sticks. This also ensures good growth at this visually prominent part of the dome, where the eye is naturally drawn to when looking at it.

A brief description of the lattice method, accompanied by a diagram.

Installing the first layer of the lattice.

Explanation of installing the important second layer of the lattice. This is weaved in and creates the strength of the lattice by the  tension created from the way these are weaved in.

Time lapse video of completing this second stage of lattice installation.

How to deal with the lattice sticks that stick out over the doorway to the dome, and weave them back into the lattice network in keeping with the establish pattern.

Quite  often as you work out from the centre pulling the lattice into line, you can become aware that the pattern is not quite working as you move further away from the centre and sometimes need to make some adjustments. That might mean coming back to the starting point and making the diamonds a little smaller or bigger, to establish a pattern that will work all around the dome.

Once the lattice is sitting right on the frame, you then use a combination of lashing and cable ties to hold it in its permanent place.

The structure can be held in place by lashing with cultivated willow, use of cable ties and twine or or foam wrapped wire ties. Here we look particularly at how to use willow lashes.

The final finishing touches; clearing away, but also checking for any protruding sticks that will catch anyone using the dome. Don't neglect the safety check.

Yes, this is a repeat of a video in the introduction section, but its the key reason why so many living willing installations til. Maintenance is key!

Maintenance is essential, but if it is done properly, it doesn't become a burdensome task. It shapes and contains, controlling the growth and maintains the health of the willow. 

In this short addition to the course, I give some key warnings that might make all the difference to the longevity of your installation. They are really simple points, that in a way seem obvious, but it is the most frequent threat to living willow after the danger of lack of water in its first year. This was a visit back to the dome that I have used in the instructional video above in early April.

We look at a well established living willow installation that has regularly been cut back and is thriving. This is an excellent source of fresh living willow to use in projects if the regular maintenance is maintained.

The foraged willow is sorted and graded (it is important that there is consistency in the thickness of the willow so that the sticks can work together in balance. For this tunnel we will need two sizes of stick; a larger stick for the hoops to make the frame and a thinner stick for the lattice (the skin of the installation).

So long as you know the length of the tunnel you are about to install, these are fairly easy to calculate exactly what sticks you will need.

It is important to check out the ground before you stat an installation. Here I run through some of the key elements to look out for.

Setting out the line and tape

(Ooops... and that's 7 sets of hoops not 6 as I said in this video)

A quick tip for speeding up marking out the hoops.

Don't put the hoop stick in upright but angle it with somewhere round 30  degrees away from the hoop.

As the first pair of uprights are put in to make the hoop the headless weaver explains the reason for the angle of the uprights.

All hoop uprights are now in place.

Make sure the soil is tight up against the implanted  uprights.

Add extra strength to the entrance by adding two more pairs of sticks, which will spiral the sticks in keeping with the original wrap.

A description of the method of putting in the first layer of lattice.

This was meant to be an instructional video talking through the steps of weaving in the second layer of the lattice, but the camera had slipped to time-lapse mode by mistake. I have left it in as it does have some usefulness.

What follows in the next video is an explanation of this stage made later on.

A brief description of how the lattice sticks are brought around the last hoop and back into the lattice pattern.

Continuing the edges of the lattice.

In this video, I step through the method and sequence of installing the first layer of lattice and weaving in the second layer.

How the tunnel is orientated in relation to the sun will have some influence on how it grows. This is considered in relation to how this tunnel is situated.

An important lesson that outlines the reasons why it is essential to work fresh material into living willow installations every year.

It isn't hard to meet the maintenance requirements of living willow, but the timing is important.

This video looks at an example on inosculation beginning to happen at the joining point where 3 sticks cross. Inosculation is the way branches can grow together fusing into one piece. Notice how it is the two living pieces that have merged, beginning to work around the dead stick.

A description of the Fedge and how to set out the uprights.

How to weave up the lattice into a strong supportive structure.

How to work the lattice sticks that protrude  past the end uprights back into the pattern of the lattice. This is why you keep the stronger sticks for the end, so that they don't bend with this process of pulling around the corner. When lashing, its always a good idea to lash these stick as they go round the end uprights, but be careful not to kink them as you do.

How to use a Dome set up to make an arbour.

Make sure that the extra frame sticks that are used to strengthen the open front of the arbour are put in before the frame sticks for the back are put in and wrapped round.

Some brief back ground information about coppicing , while looking at a couple of images.

This brief video looks at  what a typical set up might look like, and looks at the amount and length of material that can be expected to grow from it. In the video I explain that this bed has not been coppiced for 2 years. After this video was made the landowner updated the information he had given me earlier as  it was 3 years growth since it had last been coppiced.

This is a walk through of the domes and tunnel that were made from the living willow harvested from the coppice bed in the last video. This site has two such beds of the same size around the boundary line of the property. All the material for this living willow installation came from these beds. The challenge was that as the willow had been left for three years it was very branchy. Had it been cut the previous year there would have been an over abundance of usable material, and the whole job of installing would have been quicker and easier.

In this particular task, I was replacing an original structure that had suffered a lot of  dieback. I was called in to replace the structure with willow taken from the landowners site by the original willow artist who didn't have time to do so himself.

This video gives a little advice on how you can coax your willow bed to help provide for you  the more specific sized sticks that you may be after.

In this lecture I’m going to explain what happens to willow in times of drought. How the tree tries to mitigate the damage the impact has during such times.