This one is pretty neat. It’s not your typical “basket weaving”.
Procure a number of straight oak branches about three-quarters of an inch thick, and cut them into about twenty-four lengths, varying from six to twelve inches.
To remove the bark, score it from end to end of the sticks, place the sticks in a barrel and pour boiling water over them. The bark will then peel off easily.
Put a penny-worth of permanganate of potash or log-wood into water and dip the sticks into the solution. The potash dyes them a nice brown, while the log-wood dyes them quite an artistic purple.
Bore holes in the ends of the sticks. The holes must be slanting, because the basket tapers from about twelve inches square at the top to about six inches square at the bottom.
Thread double wire through the holes, so as to connect all the pieces, as in sketch. Twist the wires at the top ends, and bring them together as shown, forming the hook by which to hang the basket. Now tack or bind with wire some sticks across the bottom.
Next, line the bottom and sides with green moss. Place a layer of gravel in the bottom, and fill up with good earth.
A basket of this description looks very pretty when filled with hanging plants.
When watering, dip the whole basket under water.
