Living Willow Garden Furniture

A living willow structure is a beautiful living garden ornament that is also functional in the garden and pond environment. Willow can be woven into baskets, arbors, and even benches. Salix species do not need another plant to reproduce. Willow can reproduce from branches that root in moist soil. A living willow arbor or bench will actually root and grow, becoming part of the garden.

Choosing or Making a Living Willow Structure for the Pond Garden

While few people now have the skills to weave willow, living willow and woven willow structures are making a comeback. Look for classes and artisans at farmers’ markets, art fairs, and craft centers. The book Living Willow Sculpture by Jon Warnes (Search Press 2000) has basic instructions for creating living willow garden furniture.

In Winter, Willow Complements Other Pond Plants With Its Red and Yellow Branch Colors

Add variety to the fall and winter water garden. Many salix species have strikingly beautiful stem colors. Create or buy living willow furniture made out of species like Flame Willow (Salix x ‘Flame’) that has red or yellow branches. Salix rubens ‘Hutchinsons Yellow’ is a willow variety with rich yellow to orange-colored branches that is used in finer weaving.

Rooting Living Willow Garden Furniture

The hormones in willow branches cause them to root easily and rapidly. Willows root best in moist soil. A pond, wetland, or riparian garden is an ideal location to root a piece of living willow garden furniture. Push the cutting into soft soil and remove weeds from around the base of the garden furniture, at least for the first year until they are established. Rooting willows require frequent watering and must have moist soil, so a pond or stream-side environment in the garden is ideal. Generally, living willows are best planted in springlike conditions.

Willow plants are known for their great ability to grow. This makes them excellent candidates for living garden structures, since they grow quickly and are able to thrive in wet soil and root from cuttings. Due to their ability to grow and root quickly and well, willows are used in stream side restoration projects to stabilize banks.

Watch Willows to Ensure They Do Not Become Invasive

In a native plant garden, take care with the wily willow! Willows are good at growing, and the very property that allows living willow structures to root well is the property that allows them to spread well throughout indigenous ecosystems. Clean branches and remove new willow plants if they are not desired in the garden. Check to see if a particular salix species is a problem in the area before planting it in the garden.

Living willow structures can be masterworks of woven art, a perfect complement to a water feature or a pond. Choose a willow bench, a willow archway or arbor, or a willow fence to seperate the pond from the rest of the garden. Living willow structures can be a stunning complement to a pond garden.