I wrote a few days ago regarding my excitement about the delivery of a container load of hazelwood hurdles from Belgium; the order we placed in May finally arrived. Wattles and hurdles are panels, woven from the coppice wood of willow and hazelwood-I personally favor the heft and longevity of the hazel wood. Coppicing is the practice of cutting trees or shrubs to the quick-with the intent of harvesting the branches for fuel, or fencing. The shrub or tree regrows, only to have its branches harvested again. Woven hurdles keep the livestock out of the vegetable garden. They border herb gardens. They work wherever they are needed. Woven hurdles are a material entirely in keeping with a garden or landscape of any point of view; natural materials make good neighbors when they move in.
I have a client who has become a friend-who supports Michigan industry in a big way-he was so pleased these stripped cedar fence poles we bought are Michigan grown. Though I ordered 5″ diameter poles, 10 feet long, they looked like telephone poles when they got delivered from a supplier in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As I relentlessly speak to issues of proportion, I was worried I had gone over the edge by an inch. I was wringing my hands, until the fence went up.
There is no substitute for the time when the talk ends, and the making begins. Once the making is in progress, everything goes better. We put up a hurdle fence, from the hurdle fence panels today; the proportion of pole size to the hurdle seems just fine. Steve toe-nail screwed the panels to each post; this is a sturdy construction. What I like even better? This fence has no back or front; the panels are centered on the poles. How friendly is this to neighboring properties? I would not be so thrilled to be looking at the back side of a neighboring fence; this fence is presentable from all points of view.
I have a client who plans to screen his hot tub with this fencing. It was the subject of intense debate today-will these hurdles screen a man who is happily skinny dipping? I vote yes-unless the neighbor plans to be close enough to see through the hurdle branches. The neighbor with his nose pressed to the fence-that is the subject of another essay, is it not?
No matter how many beautiful pots I see-made of antique stone, steel, concrete, wood and whatever, I love terra cotta. The pots made from fired earth-this material dates back to the earliest gardens on record, and is still being made. Fired earth-what gardener does not respond to this? My stacks of Deroma terra cotta-do they not shine, in front of this fence? This entire space is transformed; those ordinary pots look great.
Robert Frost once said that good fences make good neighbors. I would go beyond that to say, good fences can be beautiful. They slip into tight places. They screen views not suitable for public consumption. They divide this from that. They are happy to support climbing plants. They enclose great views. But great fences go beyond to please the eye, and warm the garden.
Wattle, or hurdle fencing is a traditional garden or livestock enclosure made from either willow or hazelwood. Last week we took delivery of a forty foot long container of Belgian made fencing. Though I am making a point of shopping my own country, I am especially attracted to Belgian garden ornament. Rob says the Belgian climate and topography is a lot like the Midwest. My most favorite landscape photographer Lynn Geesamon has photographed all over the world. Her images of Belgium so strongly resonate with me, as I do think they remind me of my native landscape. Some of her images can be seen at 
A garden ornament does need to look like it belongs to the garden in which it is placed. It takes some doing to bring these twig structures from their place to mine, but it is worth it. They are heavy, chunky and sturdy-and beautifully constructed. Each five by six foot panel weighs 100 pounds-substantial. We buy peeled cedar fence poles from a company in the upper peninsula of Michigan. This material has a very local feel.
The woven branches have a great texture, and cast good shadows. The surface is lively and warm. Burt told Rob he sold Italian shoes for 25 years, before opening his twig panel business. It is easy for me to see why he would do this; it must give him great satisfaction to be making objects that celebrate the beauty of the natural world. Rhododendron root furniture, log furniture, twig trellissing-all of these things have a primeval appeal.
Positioned with the twigs in the vertical, the panels have a different quality about them-more sculptural and sinuous. I had a client tell me she loves the beauty of ordinary materials. Things people make of ordinary materials can be anything but ordinary. A material like this is just waiting for an inspired placement. 
