Hurdle willow source?

[throbscottle]

Not sure if this would come under woodworking or not, so posting in OT section...
Finally got the cypressa leylandi hedge cut down to a series of trunks. The plan is to attach something to them for climbing plants to grow up. Length is about 4m.
It seems the nicest thing to do is to turn them into a willow hurdle. So does anyone know of a source of hurdle making (or hurdling) willow in the Midlands? The only growers I can find online are in the SW and delivery is costy...

 

[ChaiLatte]

Ask these people. If they do not have what you want, they might know a local source:

https://www.warwickshirewillow.com/

Or call someone who supplies ready-made hurdles, expain your project and see if they will sell you the flat pack version:

https://www.oakdalefencing.co.uk/blog/fencing/willow-fencing/

 

[throbscottle]

Thanks!
Message sent. I'll see what they say. The flat-pack panels aren't really an option.

If anyone has any alternative suggestions to make these trunks into a nice looking fence for climbing plants to climb up - do chime in!

 

[Tris]

What sort of climbers have you got in mind? If you are thinking of roses it used to be quite popular to use thick natural fibre rope between upright posts. I can see that easily adapted to your situation.

More if a decorative feature than a strong fence though

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

I made garden border edgings by cutting laths..... 20 mm wide by 4 mm thick a metre long
and weaving them between 15 mm uprights.

 

[throbscottle]

Honeysuckle, clematis, jasmine (though I don't think jasmine actually climbs), passiflora, something I can't remember the name of, ivy that's already there, + some fillers for the bottom stretch. My general thought is it should be a bit of a riot. This is all on the pavement side at the front of the house.

I hadn't thought of roses - might be a nice idea. Will see what the Boss says... How far apart do/did people put the ropes?

It needs to make a fairly closed barrier (Boss' requirement) so my next idea was to make a trellis with smallish (about 3" maybe) holes but it's not the look I want.

The laths idea might be a good one though. What did you make them from? I have a lot of reclaimed pine... Including some already the right thickness!

Will have to experiment...

 

[Tris]

Ropes were often strung at 3 & 6 ft, or sometimes 2, 4 & 6 ft, so fairly open and probably not what you want.
I can recommend the jasmine called Clotted Cream, fantastic scent, quick growing and not hard to prune. Plant it with clematis 'Elizabeth' and they will fill up 4 meters pretty well. The clematis has a great scent too and being a montana flowers early so you can clip it back before the jasmine flowers. I'd be tempted to tack some pig wire to the trunks and it'll disappear under those two.
Can't think of many honeysuckles that will compete with those two but iirc there is a triploid variety that might just manage. I'll try to look it up

 

[Jester129]

I understand that you want a quick fix, but for your own good get rid of the ivy, it will take over and smother the other plants. It is also destructive on mortar/bricks, so keep it well away from your house.

 

[throbscottle]

Well away from the house. The ivy seems to be a slow growing variety, not the regular stuff, which I agree is an absolute nuisance. So I'll see what it does.

 

[throbscottle]

Well if anyone is interested, the Warwickshire willow people didn't get back to me. Meantime, I thought I'd try the laths idea.
So anyway, I had a couple of boards nailed together that had been left propping up the garden shed by the previous owner, so I pried them apart being quite long and about an inch thick, and cut them into 4mm thick strips. Well some are thicker since the guide on my cheapos saw went wandering, and some are thinner - I'll blame my knackered knee for that. But anyway...
Turned out to be really nice wood, such a shame to use it for this! However, applied outdoor stuff, wove it between the the trunks - long enough to do 4 and enough to do most of the height, with gaps. Hacked more lumps of the trunks....
I'd had the bright idea to twist a length of rope between the laths at the point where they cross, so it makes a kind of floating upright, makes it stronger and maintains the spacing. I'd got 10mm x 15m of jute rope for the purpose. Should last about as long as the trunks... Tied the free ends together using garden wire (plastic covered, meh!) which I'll go over with rope if there's enough.
So I've got 4 trunks done, 4 still to go, then just the end one to make into a house-name-post. Not sure how I'm going to join the ends together. Might be more of that wire involved...
Anyway I received some nice compliments from passers-by when it was nearly finished (well, nearly half-finished anyway!) so I must be doing something right...
I intend to splice and whip the rope at the back somewhere when it's all stable - though it's a bit of a loose twist so well see how that goes!

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

Really nice job well made
Kathleen has seen the pic and says
It’s lovely

 

[Qwercus]

Nice job. I've seen similar screens made from of coppiced Chestnut, split from poles of 1.5" - 2" in diameter. The result is a more open weave wattle than the usual Hazel or Willow, plus Chestnut is much more durable.
Sadly Sweet Chestnut isn't readily available outside SE England.

 

[throbscottle]

Final photos: