Make a willow obelisk

Prepare your willow

Willow is available in several shades and is best bought from a specialist supplier. Ask for it to be pre-soaked so it's ready to use when it arrives; soaking it yourself can be awkward as you need a container large enough to hold the full length of the branches, or withies.

What to do

Time needed

2 hours

You will need

• seven supporting canes of roughly the same thickness
• a generous number of flexible willow withies
• 43cm (17in) terracotta pot and compost
• secateurs
• garden twine and scissors

Step by step

• Cover the holes in the bottom of the pot with drainage crocks, then fill it with compost. Position the seven uprights evenly around the pot, push them in and firm down the compost.
• Weave the first withy in and out of the uprights, easing it into place to stop it pinging out again. Leave the thin end sticking out to be trimmed off later.
• Start the next withy where the last one ended, keeping to weaving pattern. Adjust the position of the uprights and check the woven withies are level.
• Continue adding withies one at a time until the band reaches the desired depth. The structure should become steadier as you go.

• Before you weave the middle band, the uprights need to be tensioned. An easy way to do this is to pull the uprights together at the top and tie them tightly with twine. However, it's easier to weave with the top of the obelisk open, so another option is to loop twine tightly round the middle of each upright, adjust the spacing if necessary, then cut the top tie.
• Weave a second band of willow, again leaving the ends sticking out to be trimmed later. When the band is the desired depth, cut off the tensioning string.
• Gather the ends of the uprights together neatly and tie securely with twine. For a decorative finish, wind a thin withy around the top to hide the string and tuck in the ends.
• Finally, clip off the ends of the withies with secateurs. Don't cut them back too closely in order to allow for a little give if you take the obelisk out of the pot. You can always trim it again later.
• The finished obelisk can be planted up in the pot or in a border. A mature plant provides impact, but you can save money by using young plants or sowing seeds.