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How Do I Build a Rustic 'Twig' Fence?

MidnightStorm
18 years ago

Does anyone know any web sites that show photos or Do-it-yourself-plans to make simple rustic twig or bentwood type garden structures?

I especially want to build a rustic fence that isn't too 'perfect' looking. I saw a picture somewhere a long time ago of a rustic little fence that was decorative and charming and whimsical; more for decoration as opposed to function. I have no idea where I saw that pic though.

I am a 44 year-old single female so I want something that can be built easily since I don't have carpentry skills or power tools. Every time I put 'rustic fence' into my search engine I get bombarded with companies trying to sell regular fences.

Comments (9)

  • DebZone8
    18 years ago

    Don't know if this is the kind of thing you're looking for--I made this little fence out of driftwood pieces to highlight the front corner of my garden facing the driveway. I hang suncatchers and prisms on it.

    Deb

    Here is a link that might be useful: driftwood fence

  • Tennessee
    18 years ago

    Try wwww.rusticgardenstructures.com
    it should give you some ideas. Go to the library & look at some gardening magazines. Try twig crafts as a search & willow crafts. After you look at some things it will inspire you. I just went into my yard and picked up limbs, twigs about 1/2" in diameter & trimed them and then tied them together with wire and made a corner support for some blackberry vines. It lasted throughout the summer. My husband thought I was silly but ended up liking it.

  • MidnightStorm
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thank you for those answering my post. I really appreciate your help.

    Fountain Fairy: Your suggestion as to what to type into my search engine definitely provided better results.Thank you for that.

    DebZone8: Your picture is exactly the type of fence I'm thing of! Did you use nails, twine or wire to fasten the wood together? Also, I'm new to GardenWeb; how do you post a picture in your message for others to look at? Do you have to have your own website that the picture will link to?

    Tennessee: It just so happens that a blackberry support is another thing I want to build. I was hoping not to have to buy a book on how to build twig/greenwood/bentwood structures as I'm on a very tight budget. So maybe I'll go to Barnes and Noble tomorrow morning and browse through their books and see if they have something that will give me ideas. Hopefully I can remember how to do the projects when I get back home without having the book to refer to!

  • DebZone8
    18 years ago

    I attached the two horizontals to the three upright posts that go into the ground at the corner and either end with screws, predrilling first. The rest I wired on with florist's wire, since the pieces were lightweight.

    I did it on kind of a whim--just got the idea and put it together in one afternoon with what I had laying around. The posts going into the ground will rot eventually because they aren't treated. I think the reason why that little fence hasn't fallen apart yet is because it was well-cured driftwood. It's been up a couple of years.

    On the picture thing, you have to have your pictures online, like on a personal webpage or in a web photo hosting service to post links or imbed pictures in posts. Webshots and Photobucket are a couple of free services that many people use, although they aren't the only ones around. They make it very easy to upload your photos. Once you have your pictures hosted, check the FAQ here for good instructions on how to post photos. IMO, it's better to post links than actual pictures into a post because it can make opening posts very slow for people with dial-up.

    Hope this helps!
    Deb

  • Happy2BeeME
    18 years ago

    My son and I build one a few years ago with nothing but sticks. We pounded sticks about 1 1/2" round at regular intivals where we wanted the fence to be. They were about 3' tall. We then used small branches I had just cut from trimming the trees that needed them in the yard. I left the leaves and all on them. I wove them between the posts I had pounded in the ground sort of like weaving a basket...in front of the post...in back of the post... and so on. When I came to the end of a branch I simply started another one. I also had quite a few grape vines I chopped down and used those as well. I ended up with a cute fence. From there whenever I had a branch I would add it to the top.

    It has held up well and it is cute.

  • mabeldingeldine_gw
    18 years ago

    My DH and I built a short wattle fence 3? or 4 springs ago from alder saplings thinned from a construction site (free). I've got photos of the process on the website listed.

    Lessons learned:

    I wish we had purchased stout cedar posts to use as the uprights. This past fall the fence crashed over during a hurricane :-( Great sadness! If we had used stouter, rot resistant uprights I think it would have been ok for many more years.

    It takes a LOT of saplings to build, we used 3 pickup loads. I suppose we could have spaced the branches farther apart but we wanted it for rustic privacy.

    If you have a woodstove, all the trimmings make great kindling. We threw it all in some big iMac boxes in our barn and just used it up this winter.

    Use cheap-o pruners to trim the saplings. We ruined my pair of Felco pruners by the end :-(. Buy cheap ones and toss 'em when you are done.

    HAVE FUN! I loved the process and the fence. We are now watching the countryside awiting more of this kind of thinning. I am so glad DH has a truck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: wattle fence

  • lizardsally
    18 years ago

    Your fence is very cool! You might have lost it to the hurricane no matter what it was made of though. I have a regular wood fence out back and some of the 4x4s were snapped by the force of the wind, and they were treated wood. After I replaced them and fixed the fence the next hurricane pushed the fence over. The ground just got so wet that the mud gave way.

    I'm from Australia originally and wattle fences are verrrry popular where I lived. If I recall correctly the branches are wired together - those fences are very dense and hard to see through and very tough!

    Sally

  • TwoMonths
    18 years ago

    here is a great link to show a twig fence and gate...

    Here is a link that might be useful: HGTV Gardens

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