Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/living-willow-huts/5017384/
Children and Nature. Every day we work hard to bring the life-enriching properties of nature to young children for play and learning. The sunflower houses planted and arranged last year were magical: the plants grew to create a living “room” for children that changed with the seasons. Ready to take the next step? Try planting a Living Willow Hut �" the ultimate hidey nook and my personal favorite natural playscape element!Living Willow Huts are inexpensive to make, fun to plant, easy to grow, and make beautiful spaces for children. They involve planting dormant willow shoots in the ground and weaving them into shapes that will sprout and grow over time. People have been creating similar living architecture throughout the world for centuries in the forms of living fences, gazebos, and garden sculpture. Now folks are planting living willow in children’s environments that grow into tunnels, domes, playhouses, and huts. You can plant them too.
Have you heard of a weeping willow tree? The willow most widely used for willow structures is in the same family as the weeping willow tree but grows more shrub-like by the sides of rivers and wet areas. Salix viminalis is one variety often recommended. Many kinds ...