| Willow
and hazel products |
|
|
We
run a small farm in
Upper Gravenhurst, a beautiful
village in the middle
of Bedfordshire, UK and aim to make a
living by producing high quality products in a way that
impacts the environment as little as possible.
|
|
A gallery of things we make |
|
|
When we started selling willow
and hazel people kept asking
if we made things with these materials. To begin with we didn't but
found quite soon that we couldn't help ourselves and started making a
small range of products for home and garden.
Have
a bit of a browse and see
what you
think; we don't generally keep a stock but
are keen to supply to order so if you need something for your sweet
peas to grow up, a new piece of natural fencing or perhaps a beautiful
willow ball, please get in touch.
You
could use these links to jump down the page if you like...
|
|
|
|
Orders for pea sticks and bean
poles now being taken for spring collection - don't delay,
contact us now. |
|
|
Plant
support obelisks
These
are
very popular with gardeners looking for a bit of elegant height in a
potager, cottage garden or anywhere else for that matter. Several
customers have told us that climbing
plants aren't essential.
They are 100% willow and
more or less conical. Our standard version is about 15" (38cm)
diameter, with a woven section at the
base to hold the eleven uprights in place and can be made from
around 2-6' tall.
Two distinct styles:
- 'cigar' with a curving
profile or pointed with straight sides
Two
finishes:
- spiral
(one or two willow spirals), or random
(willow run between the uprights in a series of random curves)
These finishes are not only attractive but add some strength
and hold the
uprights in place.
Here's a selection of things we've made recently. If you don't see
what you want, we are happy to make bespoke items (or at
least have a try) if you've got something in mind for your garden.
email
us
From around £16 |
![Detail of willow obelisk [image Michelle Dunn]](obelisk_detail213.JPG) |
 |
|
|
 |
| 6'
cigar obelisk in 2 willows with a pair of spirals |
6'
straight, willow obelisk with a random weave and about 22" diameter base |
Hairy
obelisks made with
'Cardinalis' uprights |
3'6"
diameter x 6' obelisk in willow and hazel with
a pair of spirals |
|
|
Willow
balls
Although I'm regularly asked what their
purpose might be, I'm really short of a convincing answer. You could
grow a
plant through one if you wanted....
If you can't be doing with pointless willow things, look
away now.
Made entirely from willow (no wire, string or other artificial stuff) a
willow ball would add a beautifully sculptural element to your garden
or home (admittedly you'll probably need a larger than standard sized
home).
Customers have hung them from trees, used them as Christmas decorations
and arranged flowers around them, but mostly they just get looked at.
From £35 |
![One of our willow balls in a customer's garden [with thanks]](ballgarden213.JPG) |
| |
|
One of our willow balls in a
customer's garden [with thanks] |
 |
|
|
|
| In
S.viminalis with a couple of white rods |
Three
balls each made from a
single willow variety, from 12" to 24" |
These are all S. viminalis, about
40" diameter |
S.viminalis and Flanders Red mixed
into a ball of about 26" diameter |
|
| . |
|
|
 |
Hurdles and continuous weave
fencing
We make hurdles panels (made in our
workshop) and continuous fencing (built on site), mostly from willow
but with some hazel thrown in. These produce
a beautiful and
instant barrier which would add something really lovely to your garden.
These are natural and
untreated so don't last for ever,
but as long as panels are
anchored strongly and you resist the temptation to climb on them, they
will last several years.
One cunning way to use them is to plant shrubs or perhaps a hedge in
front of a hurdle fence or use natural fencing as a foundation for
climbing woody plants. In this way, you'll make the best of their
brilliant instant effect as your more permanent feature develops.
6'x5' - £55
Please contact us for details
|
|
| Hurdle
using several varieties of willow |
|
Continuous
weave willow fence, built to screen compost bins |
| . |
|
|
 |
Trellis
Panels in width and height to suit your
garden
(between 3 & 6' long and 1 & 5' high). Can be
used as a division where a solid
barrier isn't what you're after.
These are lighter and cheaper than hurdles, but the same open approach
can be applied to hurdles and continuous weave fencing
- more robust uprights are used for
a more durable result.
Prices vary according to size and complexity |
 |
| Open
trellis section in willow |
|
Open
trellis section in willow |
| . |
|
|
 |
Christmas
wreaths and yule decorations
From the plainest, single colour hoop to
large
and thick, multi-coloured extravaganzas, wreaths are
popular at
Christmas. They can be used as they are (they are quite beautiful), or
decorated with whatever takes your fancy. It's quite easy to slip
leaves, flowers or lots of other decorative things between individual
willow rods.
Several customers have asked for willow obelisks in N,
telling us that they like the idea of having a tree alternative that
will be moved to the garden and used to support sweet peas or morning
glory, should the spring ever come.
|
![A yule decoration or alternative to a Christmas tree [with thanks to our customer for the image]](obelisk_yule212.jpg) |
| Willow
wreaths are popular at Christmas and also other times of the year. This
one's in 'Caradoc' a brilliant yellow willow with an attractive twist.
Lots more styles and sizes available |
|
A
yule decoration or Christmas tree alternative [with
thanks to our customer for the image] |
| . |
|
|
 |
Decorative
willow
It's beautiful stuff! We sell willow in
simple
bundles in the depths of winter; it really brightens up a
room,
lasts for ages and hasn't been shipped half way around the
world.
For something a bit more formal, we produce bolts of willow to your
size specification. These are generally of dried material and can be
tied with willow, raffia, or any string of your choice.
Willow from around 2' to well over 7' available; straight and
distorted, branched and unbranched. greens, reds, browns, yellows...
Wedding dressing - if you are planning a wedding and are looking for
something unusual to replace or complement flowers, especially in
winter when locally produced flowers are a challenge, willow is
definitely worth considering.
See our willow
page for detailed information about the varieties we grow |
|
| Bolts
of willow (about 5" diameter at base and around 6' tall) bound up with
raffia and used as interior decorations |
|
Freshly
cut willows in the sunshine - they look stunning in a vase and are at
their best in the depths of winter
|
| . |
|
|
 |
Arches
and domes
We can supply willow and hazel if you
are
considering creating this kind of thing yourself.
Alternatively we might be able to do it for you.
We are always pleased to talk about your ideas and can
provide advice if you need it. This could be particularly
important if you are
thinking about using living willow. There are
some things you need to consider carefully before launching into it -
first to get the willow growing successfully and then to manage it once
it's growing. |
 |
| Hazel
and living willow arch built in a school's garden |
|
One
of three living willow domes in a school's garden; built with
the help of pupils, parents and teachers |
| . |
|
|
 |
Some
unusual obelisks...
We
can usually adapt existing designs. Here are a couple we made
as commissions.
|
 |
| An obelisk with
a single broad spiral of woven willow |
|
Obelisks
each with a small willow ball on top; another commission |
|
Sticks
for your garden
We supply lots of gardens with simple
sticks for supporting plants. These are all grown in Gravenhurst and
either willow or hazel, depending on which you prefer.
The mainstream, garden centre solution is usually bamboo which isn't a
patch on hazel or willow in most situations and is often brought in
from
Asia. It's also mostly very smooth which isn't the best finish for
your favourite climber to cling to. Try hazel or
willow and you'll appreciate the difference. They are darker, so far
less visually intrusive, can be supplied with branches and bends
and a bit of roughness which your plants will thank you for (probably
not literally). |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Pea
sticks - bundle of 15 branching tops, each with a sharpened end |
More
hazel pea sticks (£3.95/bundle) |
Hazel
bean pole, about 6'6"+ (£1-£1.50 each) |
Detail of high quality hazel stems |
|
|
If you haven't seen the thing
you are looking for already, you could
always contact us to see if we can make it for you. |
|
|
t. 01462 711815
m. 07794 013876
e.
info(at)wassledine.co.uk
|
|
 |
Subscribe by clicking
on the link above. |
|
|
|
| Web
site © Guy &
Jane Lambourne, January 2008-11 |
Home
Red
Poll Beef Willow
Hazel
Storytelling
About
us Products
Visits
Blog Contact
us Order |
