Wattle Fences
Wattle fences were the first types of fences that people built to contain their livestock and harvested crops. In fact, wattle fences are still in daily use in Rumania as fences for animals, graineries and support for climbing crops. In the U.S., the most popular uses for these fences is as edging for flower and vegetable gardens and to help hold mulch on hillsides. A new and growing use for the wattle technique is as a design element in large panels.
The basic wattle fence is created by driving posts or twigs into the ground at approximately 10" intervals then weaving grapevine, sandbar willow or other supple twigs around the vertical posts. Alternate the weave from the back to the front in succeeding rows and vary the location of the joints to eliminate weak spots. Build the fence to your height requirements and add any decorations that you want. The bottom twigs will begin to decompose in two to three years and you will need to replace them with fresh twigs. If the fence is only three or four rows high, you can simply add a new row on top of the existing fence and gently force the rows down the posts. If the fence rows won't slide down, you will have to remove the rotten twigs and reweave a new row in their place.
Panels
The wattle weaving technique can also be used to create large, impressive panels that can be used for privacy in your yard or as a decorative element in your home or cottage. Panels are created by first building an outside frame to meet your design criteria and then inserting vertical and horizontal posts to use to weave the willow around in your desired pattern.
Wattle panel classes will be held at our Red Wing farm location this Fall. See the Twig Classes location for dates and signup procedure. This is a one day class.