10 Woodworking Project Ideas for the Garden
By Alan & Gill Bridgewater in Woodworking Projects for the Garden
Whatever the size of your garden or its situation, a well-thought-out woodworking project will undoubtedly make it a more exciting and dynamic place. You don’t have to have loads of experience as a woodworker in order to follow our projects successfully: If you have the correct tools, choose your wood with care, and spend time carefully designing and planning the whole exercise, you will be sure to get good results.
When you have decided what you’d like to build, the next step is to consider the project in terms of the site you have in mind. Is your chosen project perhaps too large for the site? Will you have to move a drain? Will the project upset the way that you and the family currently use the garden? So, before going ahead and enjoying the building experience, our advice is to choose your projects with great care and to involve your family (and neighbors if the projects could conceivably affect them; for example, the height of your planned structure may obstruct their views) in the decision-making.
In our Woodworking Projects for the Garden book, we not only walk you through 16 different projects but our book serves as a guide to plan your garden’s layout and materials such as stains, tools, and fasteners. Below are 10 projects to adapt to your personal oasis!
Woodworking for The Garden
Woodworking for the Garden‘s authors, Alan & Gill Bridgewater, share with you all the delights of working with wood to build beautiful creations for the garden. Each project follows the steps of gathering together tools and materials, considering the design, and building. With 16 detailed projects, each page takes you through all the stages of designing, making, and finishing.
Wheeled Garden Bench
Imagine going out into the garden on a beautiful morning to sit and enjoy the sunshine. Unfortunately, as soon as the sun moves, you will be left shivering in the shade. However, if you were sitting on our beautiful wheeled bench, you would simply take hold of its handles and move it to a sunny location. Get the full woodworking plan in Woodworking for the Garden.
Potting Table
A potting table is a real boon to keen gardeners. No more stooping to dip into massive bags of compost, or fumbling around looking for a level surface to work on. You simply fill the table’s side tray with compost, line up flowerpots and plants, and get on with potting. Everything you need is comfortably on hand. Make your own wooden potting table with these plans.
Tiered Patio Planter
If you have ever stared enviously at the stunning displays of flowers exhibited at professional flower shows, and wondered how the designers manage to achieve such beautiful cascading tiers of blooms, this project tells you how. To create a similar effect, you need to display flowers on a purpose-built tiered planter.
Classic Pergola
If you want to create an instant feature in your garden that establishes a focal point and invites visitors to wander under it, consider the merits of a pergola. It provides a place to sit in the shade, a spot for children to play, somewhere to snooze on a summer’s day, and a structure that will host a vine or flowering climbers. Get your copy of Woodworking in the Garden for detailed Pergola plans.
Classic Wooden Arbor
An arbor is not only a practical idea (a perfect way of providing a sheltered seat) but a beautiful and decorative structure in its own right. With climbing plants growing up its sides, particularly scented varieties such as jasmine and honeysuckle, you can create a delightful nook to escape to. Use it as a quiet place to read a book, or make it a corner for a romantic rendezvous—it’s up to you. For a detailed arbor tutorial, check out Woodworking for the Garden.
Decorative DIY Picnic Table
There is something really enjoyable about eating outdoors. There are fewer worries about etiquette or spills when you gather to eat around a picnic table, guaranteeing that any meal is a relaxed affair. The beauty of this table is that it can live outside all year and doesn’t have to be dragged out and assembled to make the most of a sunny day in spring, summer, or winter.
Flower Bed Fence
If your patio is dotted with a colorful collection of little potted plants that are forever being knocked over by children or pets, this is the perfect project for you. Gather up your plants, arrange them in the planter, and you have an enviable patio feature that keeps the area tidy and displays the plants attractively. Learn how to create this flower bed fence within a weekend.
4. Shape the fish.
This playhouse has wonderful decorative details, making it look as though it is straight out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and is therefore guaranteed to stimulate children’s imaginations. If you have children or grandchildren aged up to about twelve, they will find the playhouse great fun, and you will get much enjoyment from this project.
Romantic Garden Arch
This project really comes into its own in summer—there is something gloriously exciting about a wooden arch heavy with clematis and honeysuckle, and it makes a really beautiful feature. Position it at the entrance point to a garden area, where it will frame the vista behind it, or site it midway along a path to add a romantic touch.
Picketed Fence & Gate
Of all the projects in the book, the picket fence and gate is, at one and the same time, one of the prettiest, easiest to build, and most eye-catching. If you are looking to create a garden with the appeal of a traditional cottage plot, which will be complemented by a little gate that invites opening, this is the project for you.
Garden Woodworking Project Bundle
The perfect pairing for anyone looking to spruce up their backyard! A $39.98 value, yours for only $29.99 – Save 25% when you buy Woodworking for the Garden and Yard and Garden Furnture.
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About the Author
Robert Triplett has been carving for most of his life. He retired from the U.S. Army after twenty-five years of service and later worked as a safety engineer at electrical power plants. Born and raised in Bedford County, Pa., Robert lives in Hummelstown, Pa.
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