The ancient Somerset art of willow weaving is being revived in Bath as a gentle therapeutic craft for the 21st century. Stephany Woodhead joined an outdoor workshop

W hen Fiona Firmin decided to take up garden design, she had no idea she would eventually end up teaching the ancient craft of willow weaving.

A former health visitor, Fiona studied horticulture while her children were growing up, and planned a second career "doing something with plants".

She was fascinated by the French tradition of ornamental vegetable gardens, and set up a business, Crop, to share her passion for gardening with a purpose.

In the early days she attended local fetes and fairs, selling everything from seeds to hanging baskets planted up with organic herbs and edible flowers.

In 2005, as her youngest child started school, she started running workshops, showing how to grow plants that looked good in the garden and tasted good on the plate.

Then she discovered willow. "I went on a course about four years ago and just fell in love with it. I like the fact that it is a sustainable, natural material, and that it is functional as well as attractive to look at," she says.

Fiona went on to do many more courses and was a pupil of leading contemporary willow artist Mary Butcher.

Fiona's workshops, which take place in her extensive garden overlooking open countryside on Bath's southernmost fringe, now combine both strands of the business.

She still runs Crop, where the focus is on plants as food. Her workshops include a cookery demonstration and participants plant up a container of edible flowers, herbs and vegetables to take home.

The popular garden willow workshops allow people to create their own willow structure – the 7ft sweetpea tepee remains the most popular choice – and returners are encouraged to try more complex designs.

A series of seasonal winter workshops, held in a cosy garden cabin, focuses on Advent wreaths and impressive serving platters, as well as Christmas stars and angels.

And this year, for the first time, Fiona will be teaching basket making. She said: "It's one of the most intricate ways of working in willow, but the great thing is that anyone can do it and no two pieces are the same.

"The making process is therapeutic. It is repetitive and creative at the same time, a natural de-stresser, and at the end of the process you have created something functional and useful and beautiful.

"It gives you a real sense of achievement.

"I love the teaching side, to see other people going through that process and having that same sense of satisfaction."

The course includes insights into the history of basket-making on the Somerset Levels, where willow has been harvested since the Bronze Age. Willow is the original sustainable crop, with the same plant producing stems, known as withies, for up to 60 years. The willow industry suffered with the growth of plastics in the 1950s. Today, authentic Somerset willow is produced by only a handful of families, some into the third or fourth generation, who use traditional methods to grow, harvest and weave the willow into everything from picnic to hot air balloon baskets.

Fiona gets much of her willow from Coates at Stoke St Gregory, near Taunton, whose family business started in 1819. She uses several different varieties to add colour and contrast to the finished pieces.

Before the withies can be used they need to be immersed in water for up to five days. Fiona tried soaking the willow in the bath, until her family rebelled and bought her a cattle trough for her birthday.

And this year she will be harvesting the first withies from her very own willow bed. She said: "It is so rewarding that you can see it come full circle, seeing the plant grow right through to the finished product."

For more information on the willow or herb-growing workshops, call Fiona on 07745 655058 or visit www.icrop.co.uk

Seven of us gathered in Fiona's Combe Down garden for a garden willow workshop. Our first task was to decide what to make, choosing between a sweetpea tepee, a smaller plant support or a willow hurdle.

We started by selecting a dozen stems of willow, which we cut into 5ft lengths using garden secateurs.

Then came the technical part, twisting two rods together before bending them into a frame in a series of overlapping arches. So far, so good – the willow is surprisingly supple at this point.

Next came the weaving, which proved tricky at first but soon got easier.

Fiona was a patient teacher. My plant support was veering dangerously to the left and Fiona gently realigned it and off I went, '"adding in" more stems until an impressive rocket-shaped structure appeared in front of me.

My second project for the morning was simple by comparison; a low hurdle with single stems of willow woven between hazel uprights.

Lunch was served in the conservatory overlooking the garden. Fiona has teamed up with Bath caterer Siobhan Coyle, of Canape Couture, whose delicious home-cooked lunches and comforting cakes added to the pampering nature of the day.

Everyone was surprised by how much they had achieved. Kath Dewhurst made two edging hurdles to protect her decking from her son's pet rabbit.

She said: "I am amazed about what I have done in such a short space of time and Fiona makes you feel very comfortable.

"The garden is a lovely place to be and the group is not too big, so you feel you can ask something and you're not wasting anyone's time."

Also on the course was Chris, who made a tall hurdle to conceal his compost bins, and Susie, who was delighted with her plant support.

Stephany Woodhead

Try your hand at country crafts at Westonbirt Arboretum – turn to page 20