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Indulging in activities we did as kids is growing in popularity. You no longer need the excuse of having children in the house to pick up a coloring book or LEGO set. Following a similar line are offbeat hangouts for any age, like tree houses and sheds for fun instead of storage. Willow domes are garden structures consisting of planted living willow rods bent into a sturdy shape. With each year, the form grows, and the branches become more established and enmeshed with a little human help. During the growing season, the leafy canopy becomes shade and shelter for many creatures.

If you have a patch of land that holds a good amount of moisture, bend up a willow dome for an enchanting yard feature that people of all ages will flock to. In the same way that a living fence will attract birds and pollinators to your yard, a willow dome will be a welcoming habitat for backyard visitors of many species. To pull off your own living playhouse, you’ll need a good chunk of time in spring (while the willows are dormant). Start once the ground has thawed. Gather up a yard stake, a spool of twine, some long lopper pruners, a tape measure, a can of landscape spray paint, and a drill with a 1.6-inch auger bit like this 16.5-inch-long TCBWFY Auger Drill Bit. Purchase a collection of living willow rods at least 7 feet long; the amount will depend on your dome’s circumference.

Get ready to experience the epitome of biophilic design in your own yard. Once you’ve picked the ideal spot in your outdoor space, drive the stake or just your auger into what will be the center of the dome. Tie the twine to the stake or auger, grab the spray paint, and pull the twine taut. Walk in a circle around the center point, marking the outline with paint. Calculate the circumference of your circle. Then, figure that about 36 inches will be your door opening. Subtract that amount from the circumference, and divide the remaining number of inches by 10 or 12. Whatever your number is, order twice that amount of living willow rods. You can also cut rods from your own dormant willow trees.

The best types of willow for this project are fast-growing and flexible. Some top options are two-year-old continental varieties for strength and for offshoots helpful for tying, and leafy Oxford violet to fill in gaps created by the less leafy continentals. Sort out a couple of the sturdiest rods to use for a door frame, and place them first. Auger two holes where you want your door; make them about 12 inches deep and 36 inches apart, and sink a pole into one hole. Continue making holes around the circle at your chosen intervals, and place a rod in each hole.

Now it’s time to bend your willows into a dome shape. Match up rods on opposite sides of the circle, bend the tips toward each other, and twist or tie the ends together. Wrap and tie any offshoots from the rods around the join for extra hold. Your willow branches should be flexible enough to tie or twist together without extra ties. If you don’t trust this hold, some dome builders use small cuts of willow as ties, whereas others like a man-made material like this black Prime-Line Screen Retainer Spline. Continue pairing and attaching rods on opposite sides of the circle until all of the rods are connected into the dome.

Once you’ve added this feature to your backyard secret oasis, it does require a bit of maintenance. Each year, your willow structure will put out new growth. Use a bit of this to weave into the main structure. However, you should also trim some of it away to conserve the plants’ energy for growth in the main stem. Leaving a crown of shoots uncut and untucked adds a level of charm, as the roof will have standing leafy branches perfect for perching birds and dancing in breezes. Lastly, don’t forget weeding and mulching! Uproot any weeds that come up between and around the rods, and give the area a 3-inch-thick layer of mulch to help with weed prevention and moisture retention.