Twisting The Silver Birch In To Shapes

A Birch Support For Acanthus mollis

Two weeks ago the team began to make the plant supports for the herbaceous perennials on the border. As these plants grown they will need support in order to hold them up and prevent them from falling over.

A Birch Support For Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'

The size and shape of the supports created depends on the height and spread of each plant once it reaches its final size, if the team get the size of the support right they will soon become invisible, hidden by the plants as they grow up and through them. The material used to make the supports is coppiced Silver Birch, to see how the birch was cut down and collected check out the blog entry for the 2nd February 2017 'Coppicing Hazel and Silver Birch'.  Although the wood was cut down 3 months ago it still remains very pliable and can be woven in to lots of different shapes and sizes to create the support structures. Over the next few weeks the team will continue to twist the silver birch in to shapes until all the plants that require assistance have their own natural plant support. 

Birch Plants Supports Of Different Shapes And Sizes