Make a Rustic Garden Arch With Old Timber

We have been busily working on our cut flower garden over the summer and while it won’t be ready this season the plants are starting to grow. The garden itself is looking lovely but the entrance had not been completed, so we thought we might make a rustic garden arch between the hedges. This will be an entry to our cut flower garden.

What the Entry Looked Like Before

The entry to this portion of the garden is basically two holes cut in the hedge. Previously, we used the garden area as a paddock. A farm fence was behind the hedge and the hedge never looked good because Scarlett our cow kept eating it! Last Spring we decided to convert that part into a cut flower garden for guests to enjoy and as another stream of revenue for our small farm.

Gavin got busy making a fence around the perimeter and cutting holes in the hedge to give us access. The idea was always to make it like a ‘garden room’ so we needed some kind of entry that would delineate it from the rest of the garden. Our farmhouse garden is quite large, so it’s nice to have smaller areas that serve different purposes sectioned off. It gives the eye something to look at, like a vista. It’s like an invitation to walk through.

We have another arch that leads into the mini orchard part of our kitchen garden. Like this arch, it was recycled from old things we found around the farm.

The Materials for our Garden Arch

We chose to make a rustic garden arch from old wattle tree branches. In our gully, we had a large stand of wattles. They grow like weeds here. In fact, they are probably considered a weed. We decided to revegetate the area and get rid of most of the wattles. Instead of burning them, we have been using them for things around the farm. The branches and trunks have been drying for around a year now, so they are no longer green and are ready to use in projects.

To construct the arch, you will also need

• a bag of rapid set concrete for each post
• a saw to cut the pieces to size
• countersinking wood screws

How to Make the Rustic Garden Arch

First, cut the four uprights to the size you need. The finished height of our arch is 2 metres, so we added an extra 40 cm length which was concreted into the ground.

Dig four holes and put each of the uprights into the ground. Then add the cement and water and wait for the cement to cure.

After the uprights are firmly concreted in you will need to cut them at the same height so you can place the crossbars on. We measured one and then used the level to find the right height for the other three.

Once the uprights are the same height you can cut two crossbars for the top. We made ours long enough so they have a 20cm overhang. You can make this as long as you like. You can put the log on top and test the overhang before you cut to the size you like.

The last thing to do is cut four logs the width of the gap between the uprights. These are then sliced lengthways and screwed in place. Two are screwed onto each side and four along the top.

Now that our rustic garden arch is complete we are planning what to grow over it. Gavin would like a Banksia Climbing Rose but I quite like it naked. We also plan to make a little stick gate for the arch so we can use the garden as a home for our geese.

What do you think? What would you grow on this arch?