My wattle fence utilises a wide range of woods from our property, including elder, ash, apple and plum branches. The sources of branches can be multiple. If you have a property, you’re likely already producing your own, as there must be fruits, shrubs, hedges, or saplings that demand pruning. If not, scout around your neighborhood when the time is due – usually autumn and early spring – and see if your neighbors have branches they would discard anyway.

Hurdles can be an excellent choice for a garden fence due to their ability to function as effective windbreaks. The weaving of the hurdle allows a small amount of wind to pass through, minimizing the swirling effect that would occur with a solid fence barrier. I’m sorry, I know that’s frustrating! Sadly, the only purveyors of wattle wood that I’ve found are based mostly in the UK where people still frequently use wattle. If you’re in the US, like I am, you’ll be hard pressed to find a source. As well as thinking about the practicalities, you may also wish to think about the aesthetics. For example, consider whether you want straight fencing, or would prefer a curving and organic design. However, garden hurdles vary from 3ft to 6ft high, and usually only have nine zales (the least you can have to make a tight weave) – and no twilley hole (Tabor 1994: 132-133). Wattle Fence made from saplings and branches collected from the wooded area of owner’s yard. Woven like a basket between 4 foot re-barb driven 1 foot into the ground. ByCliff Gilliam. This photo can be found at www.yardshare.com. Wattle With Herringbone DesignWhen building a larger, sturdier garden fence, you can use limbs up to three or four inches, as long as you can dig a hole big enough. There are two types of wattle fences based on what function should your fence serve. The moveable kind, for portability, and non-moveable type for static sturdy protection and aesthetics. Step 4a - Construction of Moveable Wattle Fence There are several steps to this process, so I’ll break them up into sections. Don’t let the number of steps overwhelm you, though. Building a wattle fence is very simple. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to do it. The preference is simply because Willows are more resistant to splintering, and it can be easily manipulated into different structures. It's all about using pliable wood.

Incidentally, most of what you’ll find on wattle fencing if you do online research will be from the UK. The accents are fun AND they know what they’re talking about. Wattle is in their blood, so to speak. Their serf ancestors were using wattle in the days of the Norman kings. Hampshire: 6ft long x 3.5ft high, with 6 or 7 rails, one upright and two diagonal braces to give added strength The plant needs to be able to rejuvenate and regrow. If you take too much from it, you can cripple it’s ability to recover. Having said that, however, most of these woods appreciate a good pruning now and then. It will actually help them grow stronger, straighter and better. In fact, a healthy willow is SO vigorous, it may not even notice you’ve taken anything at all!Use a mallet to tap your uprights into the wooden panels. Make sure you maintain an even spacing, and while the weaving is smooth and even. Wattle always works particularly well in rustic, cottage style gardens and Victorian themed kitchen gardens. You can use it in a number of ways, including support structures for squash, courgettes, and pumpkins. As you can see from the above, these are very useful and versatile structures. You might choose to construct them for a range of reasons around your homestead. Which Wood To Choose