Fun Summer Garden-Gap Projects!

There are just a handful of opportunities in the gardening calendar that offer a little respite from work – and mid summer is one of them. With spring-sown edibles busy maturing, and autumn seedling prep not yet on the agenda, a gardener can use this welcome 2-3 week gap to indulge in some enjoyable projects – and we have some suggestions of what they might be …

Build a rustic gate

Rustic gates fashioned together from pieces of driftwood, or small branches pruned from fruit trees, are the pretty pastoral stuff of rural Eastern Europe. And if the wood isn’t already encrusted in gorgeous lichen when you source it, it soon will be! To make a rustic gate, gather together your natural materials, cut them to length, and screw (don’t nail) them to your gate-sized framework. While you can use branches or driftwood to make the frame, your structure will last longer if you use sound timber for this section (timber will also hold the hinges more firmly than branch-wood). Nothing looks cuter, or more inviting to go through – than a rustic garden gate.

Country hurdles

‘Hurdles’ may conjure up images of high school athletics days, but they are also a garden feature. These woven panels can be used to support plants, provide shelter, create garden edging, divide the garden into manageable sections, or to simply impart a ‘country’ look to your vista. They can be made from willow wands, flax, or any other supple, natural material. To make a hurdle, gather lengths of weavable material. Push several stakes into a prepared ‘hurdle board’ (see video) or into soft ground where you want your hurdle to remain. Weave your materials in and out of the stakes, locking in the ends as you go, to create a short length of artistic ‘fence’. There are loads of helpful videos on the net to get you started, see below for our favourite one. The best news is: a ‘wonky’ hurdle looks every bit as good as a more professionally made one!

Garden obelisk

Forget the plastic trellis for sweet peas and beans – it’s time to get sustainable with a willow and branch garden obelisk. These traditional climbing frames can take less than an hour to weave, once you know what you’re doing, but allow plenty of time for collecting materials. Gather your uprights when you prune your shrubs and trees (the uprights should be as long as you would like your obelisk to be high). The willow for weaving should be gathered before autumn, when new spring wood loses its suppleness. We used the step by step video below to get us started with our weaving. If your first obelisk is particularly rustic, or on a lean, your climbing plants will soon cover up any blemishes in your workmanship!

Pick out a path

Paths bring instant shape and interest to a garden – and the simplest do it best of all. So forget the pavers and timber edging, the digging and the levelling, and throw down a piece of rope instead! (The rope helps define a natural, winding path shape.) Once you have this shape, mark it out with sticks, then pop the rope back in the shed. Weed-proof your path by laying down weed mat (cutting it to fit curves). Hold it in place at each side with rocks. Next, cover the weed mat with your chosen surface material. This may be pebbles, grit, seashells, pine needles, wood chip, quarry dust or broken brick. As colonising plants grow to soften the edges of this material, your path will take on a gorgeous, natural softness.

We hope you enjoy your summer garden-gap project – almost as good as a holiday!