Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Willow Borders for Your Garden

Willow FencesIf you're looking for a good way to border your flower beds or to create boundaries in your garden this willow twig fence is an inexpensive, lovely, natural-looking addition.

Trim fresh willow branches in the spring, bend them into a U-shape then stick each end in the soft ground, overlapping the loops to create a running border. I put out a fresh fence each spring and in another month the twigs will begin to root and put out leaves.

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

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25 comments:

Lara said...

That is so cute! I wanted to build a willow fence one year that I saw on Martha but I couldn't find any branches. I'm assuming you have your own? I guess I'll have to plant one here on the farmstead so I will never be willow-less again.

Joyful Days said...

That is a great idea. I like that natural look. Don't know where I would put it now, but a girl can dream.

mod*mom said...

that's a great tip scribbit!

Heather said...

Very crafty and thrifty! I love it! I may have to go out and get a willow tree just for this. :o)

Carrie J said...

What a great tip. Now I just need a tree.

Kris said...

Love that! Also, love the eye wear in the previous post. :-)

Stephanie Appleton said...

I love this Michelle!

Carina said...

What a great idea. I'll have to try it this year at our "new" house, but I'll have to sneak down the street to our neighbor's willow tree for the branches.

Anonymous said...

Michelle, do the twigs take root and make a tree? That could be a problem! But, I love the look. Great tip.

Maddy said...

Almost a solution. Please may I have the 'soft ground' to go with the willow? I'll be around with my cup shortly.
Love Clay

Julie Pippert said...

That is so cool!

Now do those work in any environment?

(And just in case---I think you get notices of new comments, right? I've been out of town ahve to catch up on your blog!)

Ni Yachen said...

But you can just buy those at Lowe's for $20 a foot. :)

Myth said...

That looks like fun! I love watching weeping willows :D those coloured chicks in the previous post are a bit scary to me! (moreso than the insect ;P) One of our hens is sitting on her eggs, so we may have chicks of our own soon ;) and it's not fair to tempt me by introducing a bunch of fantastic-sounding bloggers, when I'm really not supposed to be here in the first place! better go finish my assignments... I'll be quite amazed if I survive this year ;P

Scribbit said...

I saw the idea adapted differently on Martha where she used the loops to block off spots on your lawn where you'd reseeded.

ANd yes, they do take root, but I pull them up each fall because my kids end up knocking them out in the snow anyway. They're rather brittle after a snow-covered winter too.

So I redo them each spring, I don't have that much to do (not that much garden space) and only need about 40 good branches to do it.

JAM said...

Spiffy, and it looks like they make an effective turtle cage too. Is that a rarely seen albino box turtle there?

Lisa said...

What a cool idea. Ohhhh. I am impressed.

And on the goggles thing -- our boys would be great friends if we were neighbors. heehee. Seth feels the same way about his goggles.

TeaMouse said...

What a great idea!

I know we're doing a flower garden in the back and we're going to take a trip to get fieldstones to build it with.

Daisy said...

What a cool idea! I know where I would put it -- but I don't have a willow. I will have to look around the neighborhood.

Michelle Alley said...

Great idea! Love the picture with the turtle too. BTW - the headband I purchased at Ann Taylor Loft. And thanks for the hair color comment - very sweet!

Suzanne said...

Thank you, I'm going to use that idea, only I'll have to use my curly willow. I'll try to post a pic and let you know who it turns out.

Dawn said...

That is a very clever idea! I wonder if I could push switches deep enough into my thin soil to make the willow border stand upright. Hmmm...

;-)
Dawn

Dora Renee Wilkerson said...

I love the look. Even more then the look (which I do really like) is the whole idea of making something from things around you!

I would love to see more things just like this out in our world today!

Thank-you so much for posting this.
It has helped start my day with a good feeling inside and helps motivate me to do more things like this also.

Dora Renee' Wilkerson

Lisa Knight said...

So cute, almost makes me wish we had a willow tree. I just edged one of my beds with rocks, it could be bigger I just need to find larger base rocks... Maybe I'll go to the inlaws & steal some of their willow branches!

Becca said...

The willows won't take over? Do they die back each year in your zone? How tall do they get?

Becca said...

ah...I see you already answered the question...oops!