A secret and so pretty stay open support for a growing willow birdcage

Look! Isn't this exciting? Last year I started a willow coppice... in a pot. And this design is my very first harvest. I again allowed the cut willow to root in water.

Plant the thickest stems first and the thinnest ones in between them.

To read the article about how I planted willow to coppice for crafting head on over to the Plant Something BC website. I wrote the article in April 2023 as part of their initiative to promote the benefits of buying locally grown plants to aspiring and experienced gardeners of all ages.

Plant the willow close to the edge of the pot and fill in the soil from the middle.

Make a hole on the opposite side of the pot...

Poke two more holes between those and plant willow stems.

Hollow out the potting soil a bit so that you can add a spacer to keep the twigs open when you weave them.

Because the roots are not yet established the willow roots will easily get damaged and the twigs flop about if you do not keep them stable.

Gather the longest willow stems up over the display pot.

Curve the second longest stem to shape the birdcage handle.

If you are struggling to shape a great looking circle or would like to get it done quicker I have a tip for you this week on how to get the shape exactly how you want it in our email. I send out a notification email every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) the moment the design is ready for you to look at. And I add a tip or something that I have discovered in the email so that you have the "inside scoop" even before you have a look at the design. The sign up is below this post. Also you are welcome to reply to the email to say hi... or ask a question or if you have a comment. I would love to hear from you.

... Push the most robust stem through the circle to secure it.

Once the stems are secured you can remove the display pot.

Start to weave in the thinner stems to begin the birdcage shape. You can continue to tweak the birdcage design as the willow grows in the pot below. For now... the incomplete, just the hint of the cage is perfect for an... almost... almost.... almost Spring design.

Place the willow on top of the gravel in the wet decorative pot so that it can be watered...

Add a scoop of potting soil on the gravel.

I grow all the moss*** I design with in small containers in my design room. For something that seemingly grows absolutely everywhere growing moss is surprisingly tricky. It takes weeks for moss to become stable in the growing conditions they prefer. And this is my first "harvest". My crop of mood moss is stable and growing happily in a glass terrarium. This cup is the first moss that I had to remove because the main container became overgrown.

*** Would you like to see how I grow my moss? Different species of moss grows on different substrates. For my design pantry I grow a steady supply of bun moss and mood moss (used in this design) for anything that has soil as a substrate and step moss (see the design in the link below) and sheet moss for anything that I design using bark. I also have green reindeer moss (a lichen) that I use as an in between when I might not have any substrate.

Poke the moss with tweezers to make sure it is firmly into the soil.

... and now it's time for the fun part:

Add in a few dew drop crystals...

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to add the crystals with a pin.

To add to the "will grow into it" not yet Spring, touch of winter look to the design.

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to add snow to the twigs.