Rustic Crafts from a Xeric GardenFinding driftwood, bark and pine cones to make into rustic crafts is more like fun than work. Look for natural found items to embellish other salvaged and rustic crafts to display or use in your garden.You can use seedpods, twigs and other gifts from Mother Nature like the bark from many types of trees to make neat and unique rustic crafts such as water jug cottages. You can find the most amazing things to use as unique and funky accents in your garden, like old gnarled stumps and weather-beaten driftwood roots made into root planters. Planted with a special collection of Jovibarba, the other Hens and Chicks plant they are exquisite. Keep your eyes open for finds like these! 
Whether cleaning up in your xeric garden or walking around your neighborhood, seek out items to use in your rustic crafts. Seek out salvage in the stuff that other people throw out - recycle to make garden art.Remember to ask permission if there are items you want in someone’s yard! Here Are Some Ideas:I’ve used the stumps from trees cleared to make room for a vegetable garden and greenhouse to make a stump fence. This makes a great wildlife habitat, as well as being a unique boundary marker. A wire fence above this makes it almost impossible for neighborhood dogs and deer to visit. A twig fence made from twigs collected from your garden or roadside tree prunings is a great project to beautify your garden, and keep out uninvited visitors. I try and match the project to the twigs – let the trimmings tell you how to use them. Add a rustic archway to your twig fence and entwine Clematis or grapevines around it to create a unique entryway.
I find twisted and contorted twigs to make handles for twig handled trugs and gates, or making a plain door or gate more interesting with pieces of twigs cut to make a pattern. Sometimes a certain special twig has to wait for just the right project before you use it.
I use them to protect seedlings from squirrels or birds in my garden, or just to display as garden art. Sometimes they need a new handle, so I wire a twig onto them.
Take some clean food cans, throw them on the fire to make them go rusty, and find a weathered barnboard to attach them to. I nail the cans on to the board, find a twisty twig handle, and plant with a wide variety of hardy succulents.
I collect anything made of wire and accent it with twigs, bark or grapevines to make planters or gates. Thinking outside the box can inspire you to find uses for many things you might have overlooked, such as parts from a metal couch to use for a gate, woven with grapevines or slender twigs. Keep your eyes open at flea markets or the recycle center for glass balls from light fixtures to put on top of twig obelisks, and other salvaged light fixtures to make into rustic salvaged art. Seek out rusty chains and those old fashioned and out of style fluted glass light fixtures to make into rain chains, even old damaged baskets to use for hypertufa molds. Tip:Soaking the vines or twigs in water for a few hours before weaving makes them more pliable and less prone to breaking apart.Barn board or old weathered shingles, well aged siding or other wood can be used to make interesting planters, window boxes, a potting bench, barnboard hook board or funky rustic signs. Make barnboard nest boxes from weathered boards to invite birds to make their home in your xeric garden.
Here Are Some Techniques to Use:Nails – I use mainly Ardox or twist nails to attach twigs, as they don’t come loose as the twigs dry. Main drawback? They are impossible to remove without damaging the twigs if you make a mistake, so be absolutely sure that you have it in the right place before hammering it home. Tip:Turn the nail point side up and hammer the point once or twice before hammering it into your project to prevent it splitting the twig.Drill a pilot hole using a drill bit slightly smaller than the nail or screw. You can go all the way through the twig and into the back piece to get the nail in the right place. Tie wire is an important ingredient in my craft tool box. I use tie wire to give things a rustic look and hide where I’ve put nails or screws. It also can be easily tightened once the wood or twigs shrink and the pieces get too loose. Use it to hang wreaths and put together obelisks and trellises. Tip:I like making a pig-tail to give the wire ends a finished look. Use a pair of needle nose pliers to wind it around.I’ve also used drywall screws when working with heavy items such as gates, and deck screws work well too. Using a rechargeable drill is great, as you can work wherever your rustic craft project will be installed, crucial when it’s a big project such as a gate or gazebo. Important Tools:
Making twig art for your garden is challenging, yet lots of fun, too. Expect to have a steep learning curve with these techniques. A helper is greatfor holding things in place while you attach them, and bouncing ideas off another person sometimes clarifies your ideas. Above all, have fun and take pride in your twiggy and other rustic crafts in your garden - your imagination is the only limit.
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