In the jungle
Just a bundle of twigs and some wire! Transform a shabby planting bucket—check out the easy tutorial
A tired outdoor pot or planting bucket vanishes behind a mat woven from free natural materials. Use leftover branches, shoots, and twigs from your spring pruning to craft these rustic pot covers.
Twig planters—supplies:
- branches or twigs
- outdoor pots or planting buckets
- work gloves
- pruning shears and wire cutters
- tape measure
- thin iron wire or floral wire
- (landscaping fabric)
Remember! Make sure to check with the landowner when you’re gathering materials from nature.
Straight twigs with no forks are easiest to weave into planter covers. Gather them before leaves open, and use fresh branches. You can buy yourself some time by storing the twigs outdoors in a cool spot and misting them to keep them pliable.
Twig planters—instructions:
The smaller, green‑tinged planter cover was made from linden water sprouts, and the larger one from spirea billardii shoots. Spirea billardii spreads eagerly, but its pruned branches can be used for garden crafts.
- Use your planter to gauge the right length for your twigs and cut them to size. Snip 6–8 pieces of wire, each about 50–80 cm long. Start building the twig mat: tie two groups of three or four wires at their middle point around the first twig, about 5–8 cm in from each end of the twig. Then tie them tightly around the next twig, one twig at a time. Trim each twig to length only after you’ve tied it on. If you’re working with thinner shoots or twigs, bundle 2–3 together.
- Every so often, wrap the mat around the planter to check the twig lengths, using a tape measure as needed. Add new pieces of wire as the old ones run out.
- When the mat is long enough, attach the loose wire ends to the first twig and hide the ends on the back side. Slip the planter into its new cover. If too much of the planter still shows through, wrap a strip of black landscaping fabric around it and tuck the edge inside.
The smaller cover stands about 35 cm tall, the larger about 45 cm. Store them over winter in a cool or cold spot to make them last longer.
Materials purchased at: brown floral wire, Askartelukauppa.fi
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