DIY Garden Stick Arbor
Garden stick arbors provide a whimsical entrance to gardens. They are comprised of a frame of large sticks with small sticks woven throughout. You can purchase arbors made of a variety of materials, including wood, iron and plastic, but a stick arbor is the material of choice for homeowners who desire a more rustic look in their gardens. One of the most appealing characteristics of a stick arbor is that you can find most of the materials in your own backyard. A stick arbor can be constructed in about one day. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Six 5-foot metal fence posts
- Fence post driver
- 10 10-foot saplings
- Baling wire
- 11 7-foot sticks
- Twigs and branches, assorted lengths
Instructions
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1
Drive three metal posts into the ground spaced 3 feet apart on both sides of the path.The stick arbor will be built around the posts for additional support.
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2
Secure a 10-foot sapling to each fence post with baling wire.
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3
Attach 7-foot-long sticks horizontally to the outside of the posts, starting 1 foot off of the ground; wrap the cross-sections with baling wire to hold them in place. You will need one horizontal stick spaced 1 foot apart to a height of 6 feet up the saplings, leaving the top 4 feet loose.
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4
Wire a 10-foot sapling to the outside of the horizontal sticks and spaced in between each post; this requires a total of four 10-foot saplings, with two on each side of the arbor. These extra saplings are optional, but provide extra support to the arbor.
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5
Add two 4-1/2-foot cross braces, one to the front and one to the back face of the arbor; they should be 6 feet off the ground, or at the same height as the top sticks that you placed horizontally on the saplings. When you face the arbor to pass through in either direction, these braces run parallel with the path so that you pass under them when you go through the arbor. The arch of the arbor begins at these braces, which provide support to keep the bottom of the saplings straight when the arch is formed.
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6
Bend the front two saplings and the back two saplings over to create an arch and tie together with baling wire.
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7
Lay the remaining 7-foot stick over the arch that was just created and secure it to the saplings with wire; the stick should run from front to back.
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8
Bend the remaining opposite pairs of saplings over and tie them to the top stick with wire. You should now have the skeletal frame of a stick arbor.
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9
Weave green branches or small saplings in and out of the arbor frame to fill in the empty spaces. These shouldn't require any wire but you can tie them down if they won't stay in place.
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Tips & Warnings
This assumes an arbor of approximately 4 feet.
You can train climbing vines such as clematis, ivy and some roses to grow on the stick arbor.
All sticks, twigs, branches and saplings must be green in order to bend into shape without breaking. You can soak them in water ahead of time to increase their flexibility.
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
