DIY Network

'Get the Drift' Garden Sculpture B. Original's host creates a unique garden sculpture with driftwood. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-101

Create a unique family tree driftwood sculpture for your garden.

Driftwood is one of Michele Beschen's favorite items for creating one-of-a-kind garden sculptures.

Working with driftwood, along with twigs and branches, can provide hours of creative amusement. Driftwood is generally found washed up along riverbanks and shorelines and has been worn smooth by the water. You can also take any of the projects here, use fallen branches and leave them natural or mimic the smoother driftwood texture by simply removing the bark and letting it dry out before trying to paint and embellish.

Each piece of driftwood has its own unique character. Be sure to collect pieces that are nice and solid if you're planning on attaching them to some sort of a base. The ones that have mushy centers can be used as simple artful arrangements in a room. Paint them, prop them up against a wall or place them in a vase. Magnificent!

advertisement

Driftwood can be configured in a number of ways to create colorful punches of vertical height to your yard or garden. One way is to attach them to a base. For the bases, Michele used everything from scraps of wood to split logs. Whatever you decide to use, make sure it's large and sturdy enough to support the weight and balance of your wood pieces. Michele likes to stack a couple of beefy pieces together for more interest.

Here are two of Michele's eye-popping driftwood creations:

Michele Beschen provides the steps for attaching a base, left.

Attaching a Base

• Once you've determined placement of your sticks, trace around where you want them to be positioned and drill two holes inside that mark, through your base. This will enable you to drive your screw up from the bottom and "hit your mark" very easily.

• Reinforce things further by applying wood glue between your base and the stick.

• Drive a long decking screw up through the bottom of your base through your pre-drilled holes and into your stick.

  Note: The reason Michele puts two screws in each stick is to prevent it from spinning around.

• The fun continues with the décor—keep it simple, go crazy or create some sort of meaning behind your arrangement (i.e.—Our Family Tree, seen above, right).

• You can drill through the pieces and lace colorful wire throughout; attach different baubles and bits; mount pictures—the possibilities are endless.

Here are a few more of Michele's colorful pieces:

	Figure A
	Have fun and let you imagination go wild!

• If you're going to be placing the driftwood sculptures outside (yes, they look beautiful indoors as well), use an outdoor-friendly paint and seal everything with a couple protective coatings of polyurethane. Metallic paints really make them shine.

• For larger pieces of driftwood, you can also secure them right into the ground by drilling up through the bottom of your piece with a long shaft spade bit and inserting a rod (figure A). You want to go at least 18" to 24" up into the stick and then go at least that same distance into the ground for sturdy support. The farther you go, the sturdier your post.

  Tip: This is a marvelous way to line paths and walkways!

• Driftwood can also serve as a wonderful rustic planter. You can work with the natural indentations, or you can create your own by carving or using a hole saw kit.

  Note: This type of planter works best with plants that have a shorter root system, such as succulents.

• For a more defined area, cut a piece of PVC pipe to line the indentations.

• Keep in mind that when you plant directly into a piece like this, the moisture from your dirt and watering will, over time, deteriorate the piece. Air Ferns are perfect because they do not need to be watered.