willow roof structure

Matt and Matty encouraging the first willow onto place on the roof.

Nearing completion with Harry, Nic and Matty hard at work

Too good to cover with soil

layers of protection

and a topping of soil

The roof was much more fun.  Giant spirals of willow wound and attached round the roof to be viewed from below once the structure is complete.  This process was amazingly time consuming and energetic, each length of willow being encouraged into place, often against its natural tendencies.  The result was amazing and almost too good to cover with earth.  

The willow spiral was covered with white fabric to show it off well then double layers of polyethene, landscape fabric and then earth.  The plan is for the roof to return to nature with ivy, perrywinkle and woodland plants creating a green carpet and disguising the building from above.  It’ll take a while and there are more pressing things to do at the moment than wandering about the woods looking for rooted ivy and interesting specimens to relocate.  Better done in the autumn when it is cooler too I would have thought.