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Weekend Garden Projects

Here are three weekend projects to add interest to your garden.

Easy-Build Deck

This deck sits on beams that rest on the ground and can be build around a favourite tree, shrub or large sheltering rock. Select your site carefully as the correct position for your deck is all-important. Lay out the timbers so that you can visualise the finished project. Position the 100 x 100 mm bearers (see diagram). If you are building on level ground, only two bearers are needed. Note: Use cedar or treated pine for members touching the ground. Construct the frame of 150 x 50 mm timber as illustrated. Lay decking boards. You can fit them closely to the tree trunks but do not attach them to the trees. Stain or apply preservative.
Archway

There's nothing like a real archway complete with climbing rose to add romance to the garden. Make the uprights and curved shapes in two layers of 19 mm-thick exterior plywood. By staggering the joints and jigsawing the segments to your chosen radius, you can make a strong curved timber piece. Use 800 mm-long 50 x 12 mm battens with 35 mm spaces to enclose the structure and support the weight of your climbing plants.
Sheltered Corner Screen

Where two lattice surfaces come together they create a sheltered corner, a real asset in the pursuit of outdoor pleasers. Start by setting the post brackets in place in 300 x 300 x 300 mm concrete footings. Allow the concrete to cure and bolt the post in place. Notch the beams in place, making the joints with saw and chisel. Similarly, cut notches in mock joists, leaving them to sit above the top of or flush with the beam. Finally, hang the lattice panels off metal corner brackets so that the posts conceal the sawn vertical edges of the panels. Dress the whole structure with a paint or preservative.