Yesterday I made a start on coppicing a mature willow tree we have. I do it every couple of years and the amount of growth that arises from the bare stump is a source of amazement. The longest stems are well over 20' in length.
Looking at the prunings today, the obvious thing to do was to construct an arch. The location I had in mind was the gap between the line of climbers, separating out the new flower garden, and a shed. This could create in time a floral entrance to our small orchard area where I also have plans for a wild flower garden.
The nearest climber to the proposed archway is a clematis montana 'rubens', newly planted last spring but which has the vigour to climb the arch and beyond, in due course, onto the roof of the shed.
Making the arch did not involve the dexterity nor finesse of the willow weaving demonstration I attended last weekend, but it was a productive use of the willow prunings. Here is the finished archway. It didn't take long, and all for free!
The curves of the uprights were their natural growth - no bending necessary. The apex of the arch is about 8' high and the width is about 5'. The shape of the arch made me think of the Eye of the Needle but access should be considerably easier.
This is wonderful. It'll look great when the clematis gets going!
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