Willow and other materials for making baskets and plant supports.

What a boring title. I've been on two 1day courses for working with basket making materials.
Firstly, here in Bristol making plant supports and a willow ball (much enjoyed by Molly & Flo's two kittens Nim & Trixie. Imogen & I repeated the willow ball (with a small sponge tennis ball in the middle, removed once the structure was self suporting) and she made an excellent willow ball for her guinea pig. The plant support is holding up the huge pink Peonies by the front door. The larger, taller plant support will be for runner beans, transplanted yesterday.
The second workshop this April was given by our friends Jane & Peter at their place near Mirande in SW France, where they have been for 11 years now, teaching & practicing permaculture. A walk through their woods revealed many differnet materials which can be used for making things using basket weaving techniques. We gathered Hazel (thick & thin), Butcher's Broom (prickly with red berries but wonderfully straight and green), wild Clematis (old vines make excellent basket handles), Broom (covered in yellow flowers) and noticed the difference made by managing the woodland (also, badger setts, old tracks, ditches and  the remains of a large pit alledgedly used for an arms cache by the Resistance during WWII). I spent a morning with them coppicing two old Hazel coppices, using some of the material for a bean frame. Yes I know we should be harvesting in late winter when the sap is not rising. After an excellent lunch, (we all brought food to share, amazing how this always seems to work with no planning), we made frames for the baskets and then set about weaving them. Jane had plenty of dried bullrushes dampened and wrapped in old wet towels. I have never used rushes before and found them to be a wonderful material to handle. She also has rows of different willow growing, some of  which had been harvested, stored and then put in an old bath to soak for a few days prior to use in order to soften them. I made a little basket from fresh Hazel, Butcher's Broom and old dried (redampened/softened) rushes. We swapped some different willow cuttings.
It is hard to convey the atmosphere of joy and frustration, satisfaction and wonder amongst the group mostly making a basket for the first time. I am more determined than ever to teach the grandchildren how to make things themsleves using natural materials (often found) and basket weaving techniques.