I am really looking forward to seeing your picture MeMo. I have wanted to build a wattle fence and would love to see what it should look like.

Me to, i cant wait to see pics.
Tammy

Pictures Memo, pictures.

kay

Here it is...In progress

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Finished

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That is absolutely beautiful!
Lovely, lovely, lovely.
Very artistic.

Uh, one thing...if those stakes are green Poplars, you may end up have a "living fence". They root very easily.

~Annie

What a beautiful thing to add to your garden. And you did it yourself!! Way to go, Memo. You shouls be proud.
kay

I agree, very beautiful, and very well done.
Tammy

Thanks for your kind comments. I like it so much I am considering edging all of my beds that surround my house with wattle. There is still a huge pile of poplars at the compost dump. I wouldn't be able to do the red twigs in it though, as there are only a few left. Do you think it would look wierd if they don't match? I'm guessing that all the twigs are going to turn brown eventually anyway.

Annie, you may be able to tell that there is a trench around the outside edges of the fence. I did that so I could spray round up down along side should the posts start to "grow".

I planted some of my strawberries in there today. I'll be getting a few more soon. I'll add dried grass mulch when I'm done planting.

Here are my tips for building your own wattle fence:
Use strong posts and make sure they are burried at least 12" deep so they don't "give" underground as you are weaving ( I pounded mine into the ground with a big mallet, but I did turn all the soil first so it was already loose about 8 inches down. My posts are green poplar). If you leave them about 18" above ground they have a little more "give" on the top so you can weave between them. Space them 4-5 inches apart. It's a good idea when placing your posts to have two very close together in the corners. It helps hold the corners together better when a twig ends there, it also makes the corners more stable when you "turn the corner". Trim them off even when you are finished weaving.
To weave: You need very pliable twigs and they need to be at least 3 feet long or longer. Start at one corner and weave in front of one post, in back of the next post and so on until you run out of twig. Then start the next twig by going back one post and laying in the twig right on top of the one you just finished off, then continue on and so forth. If you started out by placing the first twig behind the post then on the next round the twig should start out in front of the post. I tended to just turn the corner if I hadn't run out of weaving twig yet but you can also just clip the twig at the end of the row and start again with a fresh twig. Your twigs should be no larger in diameter than 1/4 inch at their thickest point for ease of weaving. Hope this is clear enough. If you need more help, you can email me.

MeMo

-Memo, I LOVE your wattle fence!! What a great idea. Maybe I will have to try something similar to edge my new veggie bed. It is really neat how you alternated the poplar with the red-twig of the dogwood. No, I don't think it would look strange using something different for your next wattle. It would be very interesting to try out different branches and materials and see how they work and look!

Thanks for the pics- very inspirational!
CMK

How cool is that!

I see you have a cellar. We don't have those here. This part of TX is over too much limestone.

Kathy

What a wonderful idea MeMo! Very cute and cottagie. I absolutely love it!!!

Carrie B.

CMK, It was really a fun "job" creating the little fence. I think a wattle would look great around your vegetable bed. It may deter rabbits a bit too if it's high enough. Go for it! I'd love to see your results when you finish it.

Kathy, thanks! I do have a cellar and it is in need of a new door pretty desperately. I plan to work on that this summer and will put some white tin over it. There is a room under there (below my kitchen) that's about 10x10. My water heater is housed down there. There are also some storage shelves that I hope to put my canned jars on this fall. I have to do some insulating and get rid of the ground squirrels that have taken up living down there but after that it should be a very useful storage area.

Thanks, Carrie B.!

MeMo, that fence is simply a work of art! Very clever and artistic of you to do.

Do you every have to use the cellar room as a storm shelter.
That is the first thing I think of when I see one!

memo, that is beautiful! I'm a basket weaver and I've never seen a wattle fence done to edge a garden like that. So cute! and the red osier dogwood is gorgeous in it. Being in the sun and elements will probably fade (weather) it all, but it will still look great.

I've been wanting to try weaving with some red twig dogwood, so I ordered one to plant for myself this year. :)

I wish I lived near you... I could show you how to add a woven "braided" rim. I'd bet it would look really cool.

My gawd, what a talent. I never would have thought of that in a million years. I have never seen a garden fence like that!

It really is very clever Memo! Nice job. They once had a wattle fence in the veggie area of our botanical gardens. It absolutely PALED in comparison to yours! Yours is really one-of-a-kind!

What a work of art! Thanks for the how-to!

Awesome!

Thanks for the inspiration, MEMO! Nice job too, and what a nice thing to do with someone else's "junk". Love that kind of recycling. I'd love to do that around my veggie beds....