How to Use Willow Twigs to Fashion a Crude Fence

Pound a 2-foot-long wooden stake 12 inches into the ground at each corner of the area where you want to install the fence.

Tie one end of a garden string to one stake and extend it along the others, ensuring it is taut. Spread powdered chalk on the ground along the string outline for form a straight outline for the fence. Remove the stakes and string.

Use a hatchet to sharpen the lower end of each fence post so it is easier to drive into the ground. The posts should be 1 foot taller than the desired fence height. Position the the end you want to sharpen on the ground and grasp the middle of the post securely as you cut cut through the wood around the bottom using a hatchet, creating a pointed end.

Set the pointed end of a post over the corner of the chalk line and pound it 12 inches deep using a mallet. Drive four more posts into the ground along the chalk line, spaced 14 inches apart. These five posts are for one hurdle or section of the fence. Repeat this process, pounding five posts per hurdle along the chalk line.

Weave a 7-foot-long, bendable willow branch along every five posts to form the base row of each hurdle. Extend the branch behind the first post, in front of the second post, behind the third post, in front of the fourth post and behind the fifth post to complete the base row. Allow the end of this branch to protrude several inches beyond the last post. Carefully push this branch down so it rests directly on the ground.

Repeat the process to weave another 7-foot-long willow branch above the previous one but reverse the weave for added strength and appearance. For instance, alternate the tip end with the base end and start this weave from the front of the first post. When you complete the weave, push this branch down to on the post, leaving a gap for an open look or having the branches touch for a privacy fence.

Weave a third willow branch along the posts, but start it from the same side as the first branch. Continue this process of weaving the willow branches between the five posts and pushing them down to achieve the desired spacing.

Cut protruding branch tips and ends that extend beyond the first and last post in the wattle using pruners. If desired, weave thinner or smaller branches to fill gaps between the larger branches. Repeat this process to weave willow branches along every five posts per wattle.