Poppy seed heads.

These 'Poppy Seed Heads' were designed as a Public Art Feature for a site near to Livingston to marry in with the construction of a new garden center, they are sitting beside the Old Road (A89) to and from Edinburgh.
The seed heads incorporate a steel armature and are woven tightly with a basketry willow. They stand a whopping 5 meters tall and there are 11 in total, some of which lean around and communicate whilst others are a little aloof! They're set against the landscape of the Pentland Hills, which is a stunning site and helps to frame the work.

Incidentally on the drive up North the co-pilot and Sat-Nav system failed me and we were heading as the crow flys directly over the snow laden hills in our 7.5 tonne truck, an executive decision took us around them, safety first!
Standing or driving beneath the poppies is quite a childlike experience and ethereal, which reminds me of being under water looking up at plant life trailing under the surface... hmm, that gives me an idea...

Zantedeshia.

Here is my latest piece created for a new garden centre in Ashford Kent .
The design was inspired by a collection of Zantedeshcia that were on display at the Chelsea Flower Show last year.
Whilst the communication for this started way back in 2010, I have been very excited to see this realised and installed.

My apprentice Andrew Cowling, who has been working alongside me since the 'Vegas project' last summer (blog to follow), is no stranger to digging deep on the final push of a project so a little finishing off on the weave last week...

...and then a long run down south.

Although it was a bright day for part of the installation, the images below were taken as the light had fallen.
I will return with some better images when the building and center is open.
But here's a quick glimpse...

Award winning!

I've Just Heard!
Anthea Guthrie's Shakespeare garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace flower show has been awarded a GOLD Medal, Congratulations!

My contribution to this was three little woven lambs in white willow, the garden is called 'As you like it' designed and built by Anthea Guthrie.

Phoebe, the shepherdess in the play lives in the Forest of Arden where she has created a romantic forest garden. Her garden features a small meadow enclosed by hazel fencing, an oak stump shelter with honeysuckle around the entrance and a mossy bed.
The planting is calming and natural it includes trees such as English oak, silver birch, hawthorn and hazel. Ferns, ivy, ladys mantle, even flowering tobacco and wild strawberries are spread throughout the garden.
Those lambs are gonna be well fed over the next few days... they have broken free from the folly and may well be terrorising some of the other show gardens!
The Flower show is on until the weekend so you could see it in the flesh or BBC two are covering the show on Monday, Thursday and Friday this week around 7.30pm .

Herrick Primary School, Leicester

I've recently completed an amphitheatre for Herrick Primary School in Leicester with my good friend Peter Wood and the whole of Years 5 and 6!

Together we created a very large gateway arch and a sturdy boundary screen for their new outdoor performance area.
Apple and plum trees have been planted around the willow and sweet chestnut construction to give height, shade, beautiful blossoms and fruit for years to come. There are a few cooking apple trees, russet (my personal favourite) and various types of plum were planted with care and love from members of each year group, which is highly appropriate as the area used to house an orchard before they were cleared to make way for a new housing estate.

Mowmacre Hill Primary School/Creative Partnerships and Leicester botanical gardens

I started working with Mowmacre Hill Primary School in November 2007 with workshops with Year 6 to instigate a design process, which then progressed into an exhibition of the children's work and their ideas for new spaces/areas within school grounds. After this stage, parents, staff and children of the school voted for their favourite.

Then the build began! A large watertight shelter/eco-dome for use as an outdoor classroom with a large staged area for performance with seating next to it.

This is the performance area, a 4 metre pentagon makes up the stage and seating all made with oak decking while the seating also has willow backing.

Inside the dome before the weather-proof membrane is attached.

The dome from the outside before the membrane is attached. Plants will be planted around the dome and allowed to grow up and over the dome which will help to make it even prettier!

Finishing off the inside of the dome, with the membrane now attached, more pictures to come...

These are shots from Cloud Wood from where the oak decking came from, all felled and planked to size on-site!

The Boston Hakusan friendship garden in the Giles school, Boston, Lincolnshire.

This was a wonderful project I started with my friend and colleague Peter Wood in March this year for the Giles school in Boston, Lincolnshire.
They have an exceptional Art Department who had the vision for this beautiful Japanese garden which all importantly had living willow as part of the structure.

The garden with finished structures, just waiting for the living willow to take hold..

Just a few months later, the willow has rooted and introduced lots of lovely greenery to the garden, a splendid sight to behold!

The garden was unveiled in July by the Mayor of Boston, Councillor Peter Bedford and Japanese exchange students from Hakusan City - who were incidentally brilliant at weaving willow, despite my very poor grasp of the Japanese language!

RHS Wisley - Fruit, roots and seeds.

This year I got to add my own willow touch to RHS Wisley with this sliced apple, root system, maple seeds, mushrooms and pear tunnel, it was a busy summer!

Tresco and Bryer primary school on the Scilly Isles

My own eco-chopper, it runs on willow! ok, it doesn't, but my options were limited.


I was asked to add a little willow love to Tresco and Bryer's primary school:


and here are the finished results:

Outdoor classroom

Outdoor classroom from the opposite angle.

The inside (?) of the outdoor classroom, come one admit it, you wish you'd had one of these when you went to school don't you?!

A living tunnel, not too lively here, but when it gets going, what a beauty!