If you ask my wife, my Father-in-Law and really anyone who knows me if I am practical, they will usually go red with embaressment then laugh very hard and shake their heads from side to side. I am not known for my handy work or finishing a job to perfection. This is why gardening is so good for me, trial and error, learning from mistakes and that many things in the garden are temporary and change with the next season.

I like the rustic look to the garden. I’m all for beautifully mowen lawn, the cottage garden look and creating a garden that takes you beyond the backyard, but what I really love is a garden that gives you more than eye-candy in return for your blood, sweat and tears.

Temporary structures work well in an ever changing garden, where crops move around to avoid disease or take advantage of an early break in the weather pattern. Temporary structures are generally more envoronmentally sensitive and flexible than permenent structures.

Using already established fences and posts will help enormously when growing peas, passionfruit and pumpkins. Tripods made from old wooden posts, bamboo canes tied together make attractive trellises once they are covered. Using old stockings to tie up plants is a great way of supporting your growth without damaging the stem.

Tunnels made out of wire or plastic mesh make great structures for growing cucumbers and bush beans. The other bonus of all these structures that it keeps all the produce off the ground and away from pests and diseases.

Always make the structure secure and stable enough for fruit that you are growing especially if it is heavier fruit such as pumplins, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Leave adequate access around structures so they do not become an obstacle to work around.

Use an appropriate sized mesh, you want to be able to still plant and harvest produce easily.

Be careful not to shade other plants with your structures, even temporarily.

If you plant to use a boundary fence to grow vines etc, it is polite to ask your neighbour first.