This Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 5 and 6, the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden welcomes willow-work instructor Andrew Kent, based in Ladysmith, to give two workshops.
On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., participate in the creation of a six-metre living willow tunnel. The fee is $15 for Botanical Garden members, $20 for non-members. Learn how and when to harvest willow canes, how to plant and weave them to form a tunnel, and how to keep it functioning once it is growing.
At Sunday's all-day session, starting at 9 a.m., you'll build a willow chair to keep and enjoy for years to come. The fee, including all materials, is $250; only five spots are available. Both days you'll spend time out-of-doors, so bring your lunch and dress for the weather.
Kent is an experienced twig furniture maker and instructor and his workshops are very popular on Vancouver Island. His website at www.thewillowway.ca shows an amazing variety of possible forms for using either willow, harvestable from living plants as twigs, or young weedy alders, pulled along roadsides, making these a sustainable handcrafted product. He uses both traditional folk patterns and his own unique designs.
The willow tunnel will form a curved feature especially attractive to children in the Botanical Garden's picnic and play area. This workshop will be great for families or parent groups wanting to learn how to make one for their play areas. Other uses for living willow are fences, bird or wildlife viewing blinds or garden path edges.
Prepayment is essential for the Sunday chair workshop, and preferred for the Saturday willow tunnel workshop.
Call 604-740-3969 or email [email protected]. For both workshops, check in at the Sparling Pavilion prior to start time.
The Garden is located at 5941 Mason Rd. in West Sechelt, open daily 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., thanks in part to support from Sunshine Coast Credit Union.
For further information, see www.coastbotanicalgarden.org.
-Submitted
