Lockdown Mag Jul 20

how to get a professional
finish to your paintwork
✽ Trim back any foliage that will get in the way and
protect plants and flowers by covering them with
newspaper or plastic sheeting. Use cable ties to
hold back any plants leaning against the fence.
✽ As with any decorating, indoor or out,
preparation is key. Remove any old nails or screws,
and sand rough areas or splinters. Clean the fence
thoroughly – if it’s sturdy, use a power washer such
as a Karcher, very.co.uk. Remove any fungi, algae or
moss using a fungicidal wash, and scrub any mould
with a specialist cleaner. Leave it to dry completely.
✽ Pretreat any bare wood with a wood preserver,
then apply a coat of primer. To prepare trellis, use
fine sandpaper, removing dirt and smoothing any
rough edges, then wipe down with a damp cloth
to remove dust.
Maximum
joy,
minimum
fuss
✽ If you're putting up any new fence sections
or trellis, paint them before fixing in place. Lay
them out on an old sheet or plastic. Give the
side facing you a coat of paint, then once it's dry,
flip it over and do the other side.
✽ Use brushstrokes in the same direction of the
wood grain, as this will give a smoother finish.
✽ Apply fairly liberally, but try not to drip! Start
at the top and work your way down. Check
you haven’t missed any bits, then use a smaller
brush to paint in the awkward gaps. If necessary,
apply a second coat once dry – check the paint
label to see the best time window in which to do
this; many exterior paints require a second coat
within eight hours, or it won't adhere properly.
✽ Use a small brush around any holes or cracks
to ensure paint doesn't drip through to the
neighbour's side of the boundary.
COLOURFUL CORNER
Use any leftover fence panels
to create a patio screen. Slatted
panel, from £184 each 1800 x
880mm gardentrellis.co.uk
Add a
touch of
loveliness
CHIC combination
Use painted trellis to top a
cream fence, leading the eye
upwards. Fence painted in
Garden Shades Pale Jasmine,
trellis painted in Urban Slate,
both £20/2.5L diy.com
Olive tree
that's
clever!
Painting the trellis on
the back fence a darker
colour than those on
the side boundaries
will make your garden
feel bigger
easy ideas
How to fix trellis
Even if you’re a DIY novice, putting
up trellis is reasonably straightforward.
Although its primary job is to give
climbers something to grip onto,
painting it a delicious shade is a great
way of adding year-round colour to
your garden.
✽ FIXING TO A WALL requires
battens as you have to give the
plants some space to wrap around
the framework – if you screw trellis
flat to the wall, plants won’t be able
to climb and will get beaten down by
heavy winds. Your battens need to
be between 3-5cm (1-2in) thick. Fix
to the wall using a masonry drill and
rawl plugs with brass or galvanised
screws, which won’t rust. One batten
at the top and bottom of your trellis
should be enough, unless it is very
high. A top tip is to cut the battens
narrower than the width of your
trellis so you can’t see them.
✽ SECURING TO FENCE PANELS
follows the same process as above.
You might get away with fixing directly
to the fence panel rather than a batten
if there’s enough of a gap for those
climbing tendrils to weave in and out
(around 3-5cm), or you're using the
trellis for texture and don't plan to grow
plants up it.
✽ FIXING TRELLIS TO THE TOP
of existing fence panels requires
fence post extenders. These are
wooden or metal sections that fit
over the top of existing fence posts
(try Fence Post Extender, £8.99
amazon.co.uk). Once they are in
place, simply screw your trellis into
the new sections of posts fitted in
the extenders. Do check that this
won't raise the height of your fence
over 2m high, which would mean
you may need to apply for planning
permission. And let your neighbour
know your plan before you get
started with your fence revamp!
simply stylish
To maintain the beautiful
appearance of natural
wood, give it a coat of
clear wood preserver. Try
Sika Wood Preserver Clear
£22.29/5L screwfix.com
8 MODERN GARDENS lockdown living
Red bistort
'Superba'
SUGAR SWEET
The palest of pinks
provides a pretty
backdrop to cobalt pots
and garden furniture.
lockdown living MODERN GARDENS 9
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