we have al ot of branches we trimmed last year. instead of hauling them away, i am thinking about using them to build an archway for the garden with sweetpeas or morning glory or something climbing up the sides.

any hints on doing this? types of twine or binding material to tie the branches together?

Do you want to go all natural with this? If so try using green vines from whatever you have available. I've used hops vine for things of this sort with fairly good results, also grapevine.

If you want it to last more than a couple seasons, a good sturdy wire would be your best bet. I'm an old farm girl who tends to hold everything together with 'baling wire' but I don't know what the modern, readily available equivalent is.

thanks for the suggestions. i have some grape vine, but i don't know if i have enough of the right width. i'll have to look for some baling wire. thanks again!

Hi, autumn.

18 guage wire works great for this. Also copper soddering wire. If you don't want the wire to show, you can just wrap natural jute around and around where the wire is affixed.

If the branches are big enough, and you could get your hands on one of those Dremel tools (small woodworking drills), you could drill tiny pilot holes and tap appropriate sized tacks or insert small screws.

But, the wire is least troublesome and should work fine for a structure that could last for maybe a couple of seasons, depending on how exposed to the wheather it will be.

There's a lot of great (cheap) books out there about building all kinds of twig and branch garden structures. I know Johnny's carries one of them: "Making Bentwood Trellis & Benches" (or something like that). Anyway...it's one of these books that amazon.com also offers:
http://www.growinglifestyle.com/prod/158017051X.html

And NationalGardening's website has this twig/branch teepee style trellis....for sale!!!..but, shoot, you could build it easy, autumn! http://shop.store.yahoo.com/nga-gardenshop/13-1322.html

gardenz

I saw 3 of these at the Southern Calif Ren faire this spring, and got inspired to use the branches I had to chop off our huge pecan tree for a rustic arbor. They were held together with lond wood screws, or maybe they had a drywall thread. Phillips head, dark in color so they blended well. Then the joints were wrapped with a natural looking twine, so you couldn't really see the screws. I'm planning the same - already rounded up a roll of medium and fine hemp twine to serve as the visual fastening. I'm planning to pour some small concrete footings for the 4 large uprights, to keep them from rotting so fast. I'd like to have perennial vines climb up the uprights and lace through the archway. The arch will lead into a 25'x25' corner garden with all white/pale flowers, and vines climbing up every wall. I'm hoping within a few years I'll have enough privacy that I can moonbathe out there - DH is all for the plan.

Anyone else out there building structures out of branches? I'd like to hear your tips and warnings - and see a photo if you have one posted on a website anywhere.

This sounds like a wonderful idea, but here is South Dakota the winds never stop blowing and I'm not sure that it would last one week without a more permanent structure to support it! I think I might try it this way-using 4 steel fence t-posts, pound 2 into the ground about 3 feet apart, and then the other two across from them, 3 feet apart. Take a wire hog or cattle panel and fasten it to two of the posts with wire. Then bow the panel over and fasten to the other posts. This makes an arbor. Just make sure that you have enough room to walk under it! Then fasten the twigs and branches to the panel. I've seen this done before to support grapes, morning glories, clematis, etc...any vining crop. Good Luck! Jane