Weaving the Garden

SERIES 25 Episode 16

Sophie learns how to weave using plants

"I love Abyssinian Bananas," says Sophie. "I love their hot pink midrib and their big, bold foliage. We've got cannas with their beautiful variegated foliage and bright flowers and a clump of Lomandra. These plants are all highly ornamental, however, in this garden, they also have a practical purpose. They're used for weaving! Deb Cantrill has been weaving for 20 years and a lot of the material she uses she grows herself on her Heathfield farm - half an hour south-east of Adelaide."

"I've always enjoyed looking at baskets and collecting them and when I came here, there was just so much material that it was inspiring to actually find out how to make baskets," says Deb.

Although many woven baskets look complicated, the principals of weaving and basketry are actually quite simple. Deb says you can make weaving as complex as you like. "It depends on where you are, the materials you have, dictate the type of basket you make."

Deb uses all kinds of garden material, like grapevines, dogwood and willow wands as well as fruit and nut tree prunings.

Whilst some willows (Salix sp.) are environmental weeds, they're not allowed to escape from Deb's garden. "That's right. When you harvest it, you want to cut it right down at the bottom and so it's not actually ever flowering or spreading seeds," says Deb.

Deb also makes the most of another weed by turning it into art - she uses the stems of Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica). Many other bulbous plants provide useful textile fibres - like iris (Iris unguicularis), daffodil (Narcissus spp.) and daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) With some plants the leaves will dry on the bush, but can also be harvested earlier. Lomandra, Bulrushes, Kniphophia and Kangaroo Paw foliage are also good to use.

"If someone wanted to have a go at weaving something for the first time, what would you suggest they start with?" asks Sophie.

"Probably a tension tray is the simplest thing to make," says Deb.

Tension trays are called that because the tension between the woven sticks holds the structure together. They are a good base for many different projects - trays, baskets or even garden screens.

Watch the video above to see how.

Deb explains the process:

  • Coil some strong but flexible material - like grape vine - into a circle. It should be firmly rigid - if it isn't, add more canes until it is.
  • Then cross two straight rods over the circle, parallel to each other.
  • Temporarily tie the rods to the circle at the meeting points. You can use string, wool or twine, but Deb likes to use Velcro ties to keep the basic structure in place.
  • Starting in the centre of the circle, use another rod to cross over the circle, perpendicular to the base cross-rods. Start with the thick or butt end and weave one end over and one end under.
  • Repeat directly next to the central rod, using the opposite 'over and under' placement. Repeat again on the other side of the central rod. Continue until the rods are close to the edge.
  • At that stage, the temporary ties can be removed.
  • When finished, trim off the ends for neatness.
  • Depending on the length of the rods, they can be bent over the top and tied together to make a basket or trimmed closely to make a tray.

Garden fences and barriers can also be woven - and are even simpler than making a basket. Deb uses a number of different styles, but she shows Sophie how to make a very easy fence.

Some apple prunings have been used as stakes around a garden bed, with grapevine prunings woven in and out.

Deb starts with the thick end, ties it to the end stake, then just weaves the grapevine in and out between the stakes, from one end to the other. She and Sophie repeat the process, going out and in, until the low fence reaches the desired height.

"I'm inspired to go home to my place and have a go at this," says Sophie. "One of the great things is that if you grow your own plant material, it's incredibly inexpensive!"