Using Burlap to Protect My Outdoor Urns
Winter is still a couple weeks away, but many areas here in the Northeast are already under several inches of snow. Thankfully, we’re well prepared for the cold weather at my farm - all the ornamental garden urns are wrapped in burlap.
I’ve been covering shrubs and hedges with burlap for many years - since I first started to garden. This practice protects branches from splaying and even breaking from the weight of snow and ice. I feel it is equally important to protect my outdoor garden ornaments from the harsh winter elements. A winter freeze, alternating with thaws, could crack or crumble any kind of stone or cement. Every year, all my outdoor pieces are drained and covered in the same burlap used for my live specimens.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- I have many outdoor containers and garden ornaments on the farm. Many of them are large and very heavy, so they are covered, protected with burlap and kept in their respected locations for the duration of the cold season. Whatever burlap can be saved is stored over summer and then brought out every fall for the big “burlapping” project.
-
- Plywood is cut into rounds to fit over the various pieces for additional protection.
-
- Because stone and cement are porous and sensitive to harsh elements, the urns are also covered with plastic. Rolls of this plastic can be ordered online or purchased at your local hardware and home supply store.
-
- Chhiring places a plywood round on top of this urn and then follows with the sheet of plastic.
-
- Chhiring secures the plastic around the bottom and the top. This urn is one of a pair of stately Kenneth Lynch garden urns flanking the entrance to the flower cutting garden. They are more than 500-pounds each.
-
- This plastic will protect the vessels and keep them dry. Protecting precious stone pieces during winter really helps – these planters are in great condition and continue to be planted every spring.
-
- To sew the burlap, we use jute twine. It is all-natural and the same color as the burlap.
-
- The needles are specially designed for sewing jute. These five-inch long needles have large eyes and bent tips. Every member of my outdoor grounds crew has a needle.
-
- Chhiring is very good at sewing. Here’s one side of the burlap cover already closed.
-
- Here is another view of the sewn burlap from above. The burlap is sewed snug, so it forms to the shape of the urn.
-
- Here it is all sewn together and ready for the cold season ahead.
-
- And here is the other urn covered and sewn in the same way.
-
- These two urns will be well-protected from the elements until they are uncovered next April.
-
- Chhhiring moves to the garden behind my Summer House, where I have several smaller and very heavy planters as well as a group of seven faux bois containers that also need covering.
-
- The pots are grouped together and moved to one corner of the terrace before they are covered and wrapped in burlap.
-
- Burlap is so useful for many gardening projects – it is inexpensive, biodegradable, and the color and texture of burlap is so pretty to use.
-
- Down at the stable courtyard, this stone birdbath is first completely emptied of water. The plywood is cut to fit the top opening and then Chhiring covers the entire birdbath with a sheet of the same heavy-duty plastic.
-
- The burlap can be reused about three times. This burlap is from last year. If purchasing burlap, it available in giant rolls of 40-inches or 60-inches wide.
-
- Chhiring cuts the burlap fabric to fit – one long piece that can completely wrap around the structure. Also called hessian, burlap is made in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India from jute, a tall, grass-like plant grown for its strong fibrous stalks.
-
- Starting from the bottom, Chhiring makes small stitches and knots to keep the burlap in place. He also makes sure the burlap protects as much of the bottom as possible.
-
- The burlap should be sewn tightly, but with some space for air circulation. The ends at the top are folded over in the same way a gift is wrapped and then sewn closed.
-
- Here is Chhiring working on the second birdbath in this courtyard. It doesn’t take too long to cover the piece, but because the burlap is exposed to the elements for several months, Chhiring does this task very carefully.
-
- And in the end, they look like burlap art. Here is the front of the stable office – the urns and birdbaths look so neat and tidy. There is still so much “burlapping” to do around the farm. The project continues with all the many boxwood shrubs and hedges that will be covered in the weeks ahead.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
