Willow is an excellent material for creating a hedge. Trees can be used to decorate it tall varieties, which will act as columns. In order for a hedge to look beautiful, you need to choose the right weaving technique.
There are three types of willow. All of them are suitable for areas different sizes. According to the technique of weaving fences, they are divided into:
Weaving patterns are considered the most beautiful. This technique only applies if each element consists of three willow twigs. In this case, the cost of the fence increases, so hedge with patterns, it is better to arrange them in small areas.
For weaving hedges, willow twigs with a thickness of at least 3 mm are suitable. It is also necessary to select rods of the same length, at least 3.2 m, to make a hedge 1.8 m high.
You won’t be able to grow willow twigs suitable for weaving hedges on your own. One plant produces very few twigs 3.2 m long. Short twigs can be used for weaving furniture and baskets, but they are not suitable for weaving hedges.
It takes from 30 to 45 rods to weave a 1 m fence using patterns. In order to grow the material necessary for arranging a fence, you need to plant a large area with willow.
American willow twigs are suitable for weaving hedges. This plant forms strong, tall rods that grow up to 4 m.
In order for an openwork hedge to take root and bloom, it is necessary to properly root the rods. To do this, before boarding open ground carry out “revitalization of the rods”. They are placed in water room temperature up to 48 hours.
The “revitalization” process will start the flow of sap inside the rod, which will make it easier to weave an openwork fence. In addition, “revival” will speed up the process of formation of the root system.
It is not advisable to keep the rods in water. If the twig takes root in water, then when transplanted into open ground there is a high risk of damaging it root system. Twigs with broken roots will not take root.
The ideal condition of the rods for weaving a fence is the appearance of white dots on the bark. These will form willow roots.
The rods are planted in a furrow to a depth of more than half the rod. The minimum depth is 40 cm. In this case, the root system of the hedge will be powerful, which will allow you to water less often, unlike other plants on your site. The willow will receive all the necessary moisture during rain. Willow is not picky about soil composition, so twigs can grow without fertilizers.
After planting the rods in open ground, you need to cover them with three layers of mulch. In this case, you will create a good microclimate for their rooting.
The first layer of mulch is made from grass clippings. Layer thickness - 2-3 cm. The second layer of mulch is soil. The thickness of the soil layer is 5 cm. Then the soil is covered with another layer of grass 2-3 cm thick.
After the first leaves appear on the hedge, it is necessary to prune.
Pruning after the first bloom of deciduous buds is required. If you do not trim the hedge in the first year, the fence will begin to branch.
After the first mowing, the mulch under the hedge needs to be replaced. You can use the same “ layered cake", as when rooting twigs, and you can also mulch the fence with sawdust.
Wicker weaving is probably the most ancient of crafts. It appeared before pottery art and related, to a greater extent, to the everyday needs of a person. Houses, utility structures, fences, cradles and toys for children, cart and sleigh bodies, boxes and kitchen utensils were built from tree branches. But ideal material, from which you can weave a basket, there were willow twigs. They are very flexible and great for this type of creativity.
Willow weaving was common in Rus'. There was no peasant who could weave baskets. There were also master basket makers who were engaged in weaving professionally. They wove a wide variety of products: round and oval, rectangular and conical, with complex - simple weaving, large and small. In those days, it was simply impossible to do without baskets. Women in them carried clothes to rinse to the river, took food on the road, harvested crops, and went to pick mushrooms and berries.
IN modern world wicker baskets are also popular. It's hard to imagine a mushroom picker without a basket. Branches weeping willow contain tannins, thanks to which the mushrooms do not spoil longer, and the spaces between the rods promote air ventilation.
If you have even the slightest idea and a little skill, then easy to learn weaving from willow. For beginners, step-by-step study and independent repetition of all stages of weaving products will bring a lot of positive emotions.
The main advantage of basket weaving is accessibility Supplies. Willow - common unpretentious tree, found in many regions of Russia. Usually craftsmen procure raw materials themselves. Some people grow willow in their garden. And in individual stores you can even buy materials ready for weaving.
Willow twigs that grow on sandy and sandy soils are best suited for wicker weaving. loamy soil. The shoots are cut using pruning shears or a sharp knife, choosing the longest ones without branches. Cut at a slight angle, leaving a few buds so as not to harm the plant.
Shoots with a wide and loose core are not suitable for weaving; it must be small size. Young shoots are usually used.
To check whether the plant is suitable for work, you need to cut the branch and bend it 180 degrees at the butt - if it is cracked, it is not suitable (which means it will break during weaving); if not, then you can safely proceed to further processing.
Rods for weaving are prepared all year round, but preferable in early spring And late autumn. The bark of spring shoots can be removed very easily without additional processing. Twigs collected in another season need to be soaked or evaporated.
For soaking, the shoots are dipped in running waters- a river or stream, having previously secured it to the shore with a rope so that it does not get carried away by the current. You can use it in a trough or barrel, but in this case a daily change of water is required. Tied bunches with shoots are immersed in the bottom, and a load is placed on top (a stone or any other heavy object except iron) and leave for 1–2 weeks.
To reduce processing time from several weeks to several hours instead of soaking the rods are evaporated in any of two ways:
It is better to clean the rods raw, starting from the butt (root part). During cleaning, to prevent the material from drying out, it is better to leave it in water and remove it in small bunches. After the willow has been debarked, to finish the job, it must be laid out in the sun until completely dry. For ease of use, the rods are sorted and folded into bundles of equal size.
Barked rods are divided into two types - those prepared in the spring and those obtained by digestion. Boiled during operation they acquire a bright glossy look, easy to clean, getting better every time. Uncooked ones, on the contrary, darken over time, acquiring a nondescript appearance.
It is more difficult to make a basket from willow than from newspaper tubes, but the operating principle is the same. Natural material is more brittle and less pliable. Willow weaving is not that difficult for beginners. By repeating all the steps step by step and collecting a set of tools, you can achieve good results. For work you will need:
These tools are useful not only in making baskets, but also more massive products - such as a rocking chair, table, flowerpot, fence, and so on.
To understand how to weave a willow basket for beginners, you first need to delve into and study the lessons, patterns and techniques for making them. After preparing the tools and materials, when the rods are soaked or evaporated, debarked and dried, the most interesting stage begins - weaving. First of all, the bottom is woven, then the sides and lastly the handle.
To properly weave the bottom with your own hands, you need to prepare 8 twigs (knitting needles) of medium thickness (Fig. 1). They are divided in half - four are left untouched, and in the other four a gap is made in the middle of each (Fig. 2). Then rods are inserted into the cracks in the form of a cross (Fig. 3). Next, two more thin rods are inserted into the same slots and wrapped around the base in two rows (Fig. 4 and 5). Then the knitting needles are spread apart and wrapped around each one separately (Fig. 6).
Every time a rod comes to an end, it needs to be extended by another. You should not extend both rods at once; it is better to do it one at a time. To do this, the end of the rod is sharpened and inserted into the hole between the last two rows, it is bent and weaving continues, and the end of the old rod is cut off.
Weaving is continued in two more rows (Fig. 7). This is where the twisted weaving method ends and continues with the usual one - bypassing the knitting needle inside and outside (Fig. 8). In this case, an odd number of knitting needles is needed; for this, an additional rod must be inserted into the weaving.
Having reached required diameter bottom, you finish the first stage, the next one begins - the transition to the walls. To do this, you will need medium-diameter willow shoots, which are called racks. Each of them must be pointed at the end and inserted between the knitting needles (Fig. 9). Old rods are cut with a knife at the base. Now they take one stand and hook it behind the other two, after which they bend it upward (Fig. 10). Do the same with all the other racks (Fig. 11). The racks are braided in several rows, then in the usual way(Fig. 12 and 13).
When the height of the basket has reached the desired size, you need to take one stand and bend it down, placing it behind the other two (Fig. 14). The same must be done with the following racks, removing the ends inward and pushing them outward (Fig. 15). Then the protruding ends are cut with scissors at the base (Fig. 16).
The last step left is to make the handle. For this you will need thick willow shoot, which is cut to size. The ends are sharpened and stuck into opposite sides of the product (Fig. 17 and 18). Next, take 4-5 rods and stick them into the weaving at the end of the handle (Fig. 19). They braid it several times and thread it into the weave from the other end. Then they take a few more shoots and do the same thing (Fig. 20 and 21). Another rod is stuck nearby and braided around the handle at the base, tightening it with a knot (Fig. 22 and 23). The end is cut with a knife (Fig. 24). The cart is ready!
Over time, you can learn to braid braids and ropes in two or three rows with more complex weaving, for example, openwork. Sometimes, for the convenience of making wicker products, they make wooden templates round or square shape, which greatly facilitate the work.
Products woven from wicker can serve their owners for many years, performing not only a practical, but also a decorative function. They are successfully used as a piece of furniture both in the countryside and in the metropolis.
Making willow with your own hands is a science mastered by our ancestors several thousand years before our era. In historical documents different countries around the world there are references to various wicker boxes, fences, baskets and much more. The products that can be made by learning how to weave are beautiful and varied. Nowadays, willow weaving is not related to the everyday needs of a person; rather, it is a fashionable hobby and a way to bring beauty and style to the interior.
Modern willow baskets are not only accessories for the garden, they are full-fledged inhabitants of apartments. They not only bring practical benefits, but are also a highlight, a kind of accent in the design of the apartment.
It is important to note that collecting vines for weaving does not cause any harm to nature, but, on the contrary, rejuvenates the thickets.
Willow weaving is popular today both in rural areas and in major cities. Another advantage of this hobby is that there is no need to purchase materials for work. You can easily prepare them yourself. Willow is a very common plant and grows in almost all regions of Russia. If you love the outdoors, then a trip to the willow vine will be an enjoyable and interesting adventure. In some large cities, shops that provide goods for various hobbies are beginning to sell wicker rods. There are not many such stores yet, but this great option for those who don’t know where to find willow thickets in a large city.
Not only willow vine is suitable for weaving, but also walnut vine and other flexible species of shrubs and trees. It is better to choose thin, long shoots. Take those twigs that do not branch.
For this type of hobby, both unbarked and peeled vines are suitable. Large products are woven from the unrefined wood: fences, large baskets for fruits and vegetables. Peeled vines are used to make vases, trays, laundry boxes, bread bins and much more. An unpeeled vine is called unrooted, a peeled one is called debarked.
The preparation of materials for weaving is carried out in autumn or spring. In summer, willow shoots, due to active growth, are very brittle and are not suitable for weaving.
Shoots harvested in spring are cleared of bark immediately, without additional preparation. Shoots harvested in the fall are boiled before cleaning. Harvesting and preparing vines for weaving is not a difficult task, but it requires time and effort.
But when willow weaving for beginners will captivate and draw you in step by step, and the finished wicker item will become a source of pride for you, the time and effort spent will be fully repaid by the charge of positive energy that you will receive.
What will we need during the work process? Willow weaving for beginners, described step by step in the article, requires at least a good amount of patience. Making a basket from wicker is more difficult than weaving it from newspaper tubes. Natural material less pliable in work and can break.
You also need some tools for the job.
Prepare:
Classically, baskets are woven starting from the bottom. Then they weave the walls and the bend. Handles come last.
It is advisable to start from willow for beginners step by step with product models round shape. To make it, you will need to learn just a few techniques:
During the weaving process, the work must be compacted and pressed down so that the basket does not turn out to be too flimsy. The rods should be laid tightly and evenly, without covering each other.
Once the technique of making a round basket has been mastered, you can move on to more complex openwork products made from wicker. Experienced craftsmen They decorate their baskets with braids, weaving birch bark, straw and wooden beads into them. The design and shape of such baskets are limited only by the imagination of the master.
You can weave almost anything from wicker. Often landscape designers they order craftsmen to create wicker figures made from wicker to decorate the garden. They decorate the garden plot with wattles, and on open veranda It is quite possible to place a rocking chair made of wicker. You can also weave stools, a small table from willow vine for outdoor gatherings.
From this available environmentally friendly material They even make decorations and New Year's gifts. A cradle made of untreated twigs is suitable for a children's room. Children love to sleep in such natural, environmentally friendly cradles.
Rectangular wicker baskets placed on shelves and racks are suitable for storing clothes, magazines and newspapers, and all sorts of household items.
Any housewife can find use for wickerwork in her home. The ability to weave from wicker will definitely be useful to you in life, at least for arranging your own life, and maybe it will become a source of additional income for you.
Now that you have learned about what wicker weaving is and how to weave from willow, the master class below will teach you how to weave round baskets from wicker. With such a basket you can go on picnics with friends or to the dacha with children.
Let's start making the basket by preparing the willow vine. It is best to cut the vine in May, before the willow begins to bloom. You can also cut the vines in August, when new long shoots grow on the willow.
We immediately remove the bark from the cut branches and leave our vine for five days in the shade in the open air.
After the vine has been prepared and rested, we begin weaving willow baskets. The technology is as follows: we weave the bottom and edges of the product with whole round twigs, and the walls with vines split into several parts.
To split the vine into pieces, you will need a special hardwood cleaver. An incision is made at the end of the vine with a knife, a cleaver is inserted into it, and the vine is split into 2, 3 or 4 parts.
The split branches are soaked in water for several hours, and then the brown center is removed. It is recommended to use a plane to process split vines.
Before weaving from the vine, it needs to be moistened. This can be done with a spray bottle or by lowering the branches into water for a few minutes.
Having prepared a sufficient amount of vines, we begin weaving willow baskets.
Carefully consider the process of creating a basket in the figure. First, the bottom of the basket is woven, then the ribs are added and the sides are woven along them. At the very end the handle is done.
If you know the technology of making baskets from paper tubes, then know that willow weaving for beginners step by step is almost the same.
We carry out the work in this order:
Follow the procedure shown in the pictures. A little practice and you will succeed.
Having mastered the technique of weaving round baskets from wicker, you can then learn how to weave square and oval baskets and boxes, learn how to weave a willow fence for beginners step by step, then move on to making wicker furniture and more complex products. The growth of your skills and mastery depends only on the amount of your free time and desire to engage in wicker weaving. Willow weaving is an interesting and accessible activity for everyone.
First, the rods need to be cleared of bark.
To do this, place them with their thick ends down in a bucket or barrel of water.Willow
will begin to come to life, internal sap flow will begin. After about a week, you can try to start cleaning. For this purposewicker weaversThere is a simple device called a pinch.
This is a narrow, tapered fork with sharpened inner edges. The most primitive pinch is simply stronger wood, split into two. The place where the gap begins is fixed by wrapping the trunk with a rope. A willow branch is inserted into the gap and the hand is pulled towards itself.
If the bark does not yield well, you can postpone the process for another week. Radical and quick way- steam the rods. The mashed bark will peel off like a banana peel.
In the process of making wattle fence, this is the most boring, painstaking and uninteresting part of the work. Therefore, you need to treat the issue carefully and automate the process as much as possible by experimenting with various forms and designs.
During the drying process, gaps will appear between the branches of the fence, so it is advisable to lay them more tightly.
When laying, you need to alternate branches so that their lengths are different. Otherwise, the border of the joints will be too noticeable.
The most difficult thing in building a fence with my own hands- is to find the material.
The debarking process is very labor intensive. It’s not just your hands that quickly get tired from work. Care should be taken convenient location twigs, the place where the bark is removed and the cleaned vines are stored. And of course, about a chair (or armchair) so that your back doesn’t hurt. Having prepared in this way required quantity willow twigs, you can start weaving the fence.
When making a classic wicker fence, the basis is stakes driven vertically into the ground at an equal distance. This design has a significant drawback: wooden pegs are susceptible to rotting. The use of metal rods is more durable and technologically advanced. This can be half-inch water pipe, rebar, or smooth rolled rod.
The disadvantage of the iron base is that it is not very presentable appearance, which can ruin the impression of the entire wicker fence. Painting the rods with precise tinting to match the color of the harvested willow vine will help correct the situation. If a hollow pipe is used, it is advisable to close the upper end with a decorative wooden cap.
But this does not mean that natural rods are not suitable for poles. You just need to be a little concerned about protecting them. Antiseptic will be very useful. But it’s even better to dig a drainage trench in place of the fence and replace the usual soil with sand. Water will quickly move away from the intake and rotting conditions will be minimized. In this case, however, another problem arises. Sand is a very unreliable foundation. In order for the stakes to hold well, the trench needs to be dug half a meter deep.
Making a wicker fence begins with markings.
Depending on the thickness of the weaving rods, the installation step of the pins (or stakes) is selected.
The usual recommendation is half a meter. However, distance is not a dogma. It all depends on the thickness of the fence rods and the design idea. First you need to experiment with how the vine bends and what the finished product will look like. wicker fence
generally.
The rods are stuck into the ground according to the principle: the deeper, the better - this will only make the fence stand stronger.
The height of the racks is about one and a half to two meters (of which 30 centimeters are underground). The greater the height, the more rods will need to be laid across. Don't miss, there may not be enough material.
At the beginning and end of the fence, vertical rods should be placed as close as possible. They will “work” like a lock to secure the woven rods.
Perfect option- fasten the end rods at the top. Any annealed wire will do. You need to twist it not at the very top, but so that two or three horizontal rows of rods are woven over the wire. In this way we hide the foreign body inside the fence, hiding it from prying eyes
Before weaving rods
You need to soak them well so that the juice begins to circulate in them. This will add flexibility to the vine and allow the rods to be woven together well and tightly. It's even better if you give the rods a steam bath. Such a rotted tree will bend very easily. When it dries, the strength will return, but the wattle will already take on the desired curved shape. A steam bath cannot be used if the vine is painted and varnished.
From willow you can create stunning wicker designs. From willow you can make benches, gazebos, flowerbeds and even ponds and fountains. Combination of wickerwork with other elements landscape design will do yours garden plot unique.
In order not to spoil the impression of “pristine”, it is better not to align the protruding colas at the same height.
To make the fence even more interesting, you can hang flower pots on top of the ends of the pegs. You can also make pots with your own hands from natural material, for example, from pumpkin. It's not difficult, you just need a small pumpkin, a knife and a spoon. Cut off the top of the pumpkin, scoop out the contents with a spoon, and dry the resulting vessel. Then we cut a hole in the bottom so that the water in our pot does not stagnate, fill it with soil and plant flowers.
Any low garden plants are suitable as seedlings. Pansies and alicium will look good. Phlox, gladioli and other large flowers are definitely not suitable. Except garden plants You can also keep some of your home flowers on your site in summer. For example, it tolerates well Fresh air campanula (“groom” and “bride”), some types of begonias and tradescantia.
Flowers hung in pumpkin pots will feel comfortable on the fence. In the garden, they are provided with watering with soft rainwater and shade from the fence, which will create conditions in which they will bloom for a long time and delight you and your loved ones.
Fashion tends to come back. But it returns in an updated form.
We will recognize her character traits with a touch of new charm. There is a fashion for shoes and hats, for furniture, cars, architectural style, design personal plot and its fences. Not everyone likes fences made of stamped flooring, brick or concrete.
Traveling around Europe, we pay attention to how naturally fences created from neatly trimmed bushes or trees fit into the landscape. Not all such plants feel comfortable in our latitudes. Often special care will be required; in winter there is a risk of freezing. And the price of some types of such plants “bites”.
But a do-it-yourself living willow fence is an excellent option for an aesthetic and inexpensive solution to the problem of fencing a site.
About six hundred species of willow are known, differing in the height of the tree or shrub, the shape of the crown, the shade of the leaves, and the characteristics of the wood. Almost all types of willow are easy to take cuttings. For rooting, it is better to use woody two-year-old cuttings. Annuals can be used. Many types will serve excellent material to create a living willow fence. Let's get acquainted with some. 
It is unpretentious to soils, can grow on any soil, and is frost-resistant. It reaches a height of 9 meters and does not tolerate stagnation of moisture. Flexible shoots are covered with a bluish coating. Narrow pointed leaves up to 12 cm long.
Fast-growing and frost-resistant silver willow. It is called white willow. The tree grows up to 30 meters in height. It has a weeping crown, the bark is gray, the leaves are pubescent below, and in the spring the tree is decorated with thick earrings.
Purple willow can be recognized by its purple catkins and bluish tint to the crown. This is a shrub up to 4 meters high. Thin shoots with long leaves look very elegant. The plant is light-loving and frost-resistant. Responds wonderfully to pruning.
Babylonian willow looks great. Its young leaves are a rich, bright green color. The tree reaches a height of 15 meters. Resistant to frost. The leaves turn yellow by mid-winter. In spring, the leaves first appear, then flowering occurs.
A wicker fence made from Hakuro Nishiki willow, which has decorative white leaves with a pink tint, will look picturesque. The bark of this species is a beautiful red-brown color. Due to low frost resistance, it can only be recommended for the southern regions of Russia.
The twig willow grows up to five meters in height, has leaves up to 20 cm long. Flexible branches are characterized by excellent strength. It is good for weaving baskets.
Brittle willow or willow grows up to 7 meters in height. Its branches are unsuitable for arranging a tunnel, a fence in the form of a fence and weaving products. Due to the spherical crown, it looks good in single plantings. A broom fence will be frost-resistant.
Shrub willow or common willow forms thickets along river banks. There are belotal, chernotal, and krasnotal (Caspian willow, used to strengthen shifting sands).
Seedlings can be purchased at nurseries. Cuttings are sold planted in containers or with the root system packed in burlap. To ensure the condition of the root system, it is better to unwrap the packaging and inspect the roots. We inspect seedlings in pots for the presence of living buds or leaves. Seedlings should be moist and resilient.
You can cut cuttings of the required length in the forest, on the banks of a river, lake and root them yourself, constantly maintaining the soil in wet.
Two-year-old cuttings take root better.
In a sunny place it is not easy to maintain humidity levels, especially if land plot is located outside the city, and you do not live there permanently.
Very good result get it by planting the cut cuttings in a greenhouse and rooting there throughout the year. Next spring you will become the owner of high-quality seedlings that can be transplanted to a permanent place with a lump of earth.
Almost all types of willow are planted according to the same pattern.
A willow fence made in the shape of diamonds looks interesting.
Forming a fence in the form of a fence or diamonds is not suitable for species with fragile branches. These plants are formed into an upright fence, pruned on both sides.
Talnik combines species of willow that have a shrubby form.
Chernotal has very plastic branches. It is readily used to create living fences and tunnels. To do this, one or two year old branches are cut with a sharp knife in early spring or autumn. In the spring, rooting is carried out in the same order as described above. Branches collected in the fall can be stored until spring, placed in a container with a small amount water. Rooting is carried out in the spring.
Weaving a fence from willow is just as easy as from seedlings of another type of plastic willow. Planting and forming a willow fence is no different from the same operations with other types of non-fragile willows.
Further care for the hedge consists of regular trimming. To keep the fence looking well-groomed, trimming is required 2 times per season.
In the spring, dose the seedlings for good summer growth. Feed in the fall to help develop frost resistance. Having planted non-frost-resistant varieties, prepare to cover the fence in winter.
Most willow varieties will form a crown on their own without requiring pruning. Standard plants will require pruning. Fence formed from willow standard type will need to cut off root shoots and trim branches that violate the given shape of the fence. 
A wicker fence made of willow or willow will not only serve as a fence, but will decorate your site. In some part of it (for example, in a corner) you can create a gazebo from willow twigs, in which you can arrange a table and benches. Such a gazebo can later become a wonderful place to relax on a hot day or be used for evening tea drinking.
