Willow in the Glen Garden

Few things suit a damp Scottish glen garden quite as well as a willow bed. Willow wants wet feet and plenty of light, so that awkward corner beside the burn, or the low ground below a spring that never quite dries out, is ideal. Plant a dozen stools and within three years you will have more rods than you can weave in a winter.

For a first basket, choose your varieties with purpose. Common osier gives long, strong rods that are good for stakes, handles and the frame of a creel, while finer sorts such as black maul and Dicky Meadows give the slender, flexible rods you want for the body of a basket. There is a long tradition in these glens of weaving whatever could be cut within sight of the door — creels for the shore, sculls and skips for the byre, a rough basket for tatties and kindling. Nothing about a first attempt needs to be precious.

Cutting and Choosing Your Rods

Willow is normally cut in winter, from leaf-fall until about early March, while the sap is down. Rods cut then are dry and will need soaking before you can bend them. Rods cut in summer are green and can be woven straight away, though they shrink and loosen as they dry — which for a complete beginner is often the easier way in.

• Look for rods with no side branches for at least 60cm of their length.
• Aim for rods of roughly 1.2 to 1.8 metres, about the thickness of a pencil at the butt.
• Cut cleanly at a slight angle, close to the stool, leaving no snag.
• Bundle by length and thickness and tie with twine — sorting early saves an hour later.

Strip the leaves with a firm hand run down the rod, pulling against the direction of growth. Keep the bundles off the ground and under cover so they dry evenly rather than going mouldy.

Soaking and Preparing

Dry rods need their flexibility back before they will weave without snapping. Stand them butt-down in a tall bucket or a length of drainpipe filled with water, somewhere cool — never anywhere they might cook in the sun. Three to five days is usual for pencil-thick rods; longer, stouter rods may need a week or more.

Test by bending a rod around your finger. If it cracks, soak it another day or two. If it curves like a length of rope, it is ready. Once out of the water, wrap what you are not using straight away in a damp cloth or sack. Soaked rods stay workable for two or three days, but leave them wet for a week and they will blacken and rot.

Your kit is simple: sharp secateurs, a bodkin or a sturdy screwdriver for opening gaps, a ball of twine, a weight to hold the base steady, and a bucket of water to hand.

Starting the Base

The simplest start for a round basket is the stake and strand method. Take eight rods of roughly equal length for your stakes, then split one extra stout rod lengthwise for about 8cm to make what is called the slath. Push four stakes into that slit so they lie four to the left and four to the right, giving eight radiating spokes.

Now take two thin, flexible weavers and lay them side by side. Weave round the spokes in pairing: the front weaver passes over the next stake, the back one passes under it, and the two swap places at every stake. It feels awkward for the first three rounds and then, quite suddenly, it makes sense. Keep the weave snug, pushing each round tight against the last with your bodkin.

When the base is roughly 15cm across, bend the stakes upwards sharply and weave two or three rows of waling — three rods, each passing over two stakes and under one — to hold the uprights firm. This band is what gives the basket its strength at the foot.

Weaving Up the Sides and Finishing

With the sides standing, switch to randing: one rod at a time, over one stake and under the next, working steadily round. When a rod runs out, lay its butt behind a stake and start a new rod from behind the same stake, so the joins hide in the uprights. Aim for a basket 15cm to 20cm deep for storing kindling, tatties or wool — and remember that green willow shrinks, so stop a little taller than you think you need.

Trim the stakes to about 12cm above the last weave and finish with a three-rod border: bend each stake behind the next two and out, working round until all the ends are used up and tucked away. If the border defeats you on basket number one, fold the stakes over and bind them with a wrap of twine. It will hold perfectly well, and you can rework it later.

Using and Caring for Your Basket

Let a new basket dry slowly in a cool, airy place — never beside the stove, which will make the willow brittle. Once dry, it will be remarkably strong for its weight. Do not leave it standing in water or sitting on damp stone in a byre.

A slack basket can be tightened by giving it a good soak in clean water and letting it dry out again in its own time. Treated that way, a simple willow basket will give you twenty years of carrying, and the next one will come together twice as quickly as the first.