Lattice screen to support and hang plants

Sunset, Sept, 1990

Providing a backdrop for seasonal flowers, this freestanding lattice screen also separates two garden areas. Prefabricated lattice panels make such a structure easy to build; concrete piers hold its hefty framework in place. To duplicate this screen, you'll need two 4-by-8 panels of 1/4-by,-1 1/2 redwood lath, available at home improvement centers.

Three pairs of 10-foot-long 1-by-4s serve as vertical posts for the sandwich-type frame. Two 9-foot-long 1-by-6s with diagonally cut ends form the horizontal caps. Two pairs of 44-inch-long 1 -by-6s are the bottom rails. And three pairs of 1-foot long 2-by-4s - also with ends ditigonally cut are crossbars for the hanging plants. Assemble screen on the ground, securing it with 1 5/8-inch-long dry-wall screws. Begin with three posts and two bottom rails, laying lattice over the posts and 6 inches below their tops. Fix the remaining posts and rails to the top side of the lattice. Add horizontal caps, then the crossbars. Sink posts 18 inches deep into concrete. Design was by landscape architect Richard William of San Francisco.