How to Build a Screened Retreat

Pocket Garden Option

• 1

  Choose a space that has one or two walls, with minimal traffic. Measure the perimeter.

• 2

  Get five or more young cedar pines in decorative clay pots. The total height of trees and pots should reach a minimum of 5 feet; all clay pots should have one motif and size. Alternatively, use shrub hedges on rectangular planters.

• 3

  Line up the potted cedars or shrub hedges to outline the area to be screened. L-shapes and U-shapes are popular outlines. Leave space for entry.

Art Gallery Option

• 4

  Measure the perimeter. Get two or more rectangular planter boxes, enough to outline the space to be screened in an L- or U-shape, with enough room for entry.

• 5

  Fill two-thirds of the planter boxes with sand.

• 6

  Stick bamboo culms into the sand, creating a solid wall. The total height should reach a minimum of 5 feet. Repeat on all planters.

• 7

  Top sand with colored glass pebbles or fist-sized garden rocks to enhance the look and further stabilize the bamboo.

Seascape Option

• 8

  Position a waist-high cabinet to block most of the entrance to the space. This option is perfect for small nooks.

• 9

  Get a large aquarium of the same width and length as the cabinet, with a minimum height of 2 feet; install it on top of cabinet. The total height of both cabinet and aquarium should be 5 feet minimum, and can be the third wall of a triangular space.

• 10

  Place an unpadded wooden bench for the back of the cabinet. Use this either for additional seating, a display area or storage shelf. Place a table runner on the bench if it is to be used as a display are or storage shelf.