With its delicate crisscross design, lattice adds a pleasant, light touch to the garden scene.

A portable screen is useful for hiding ugly views or providing instant privacy, wherever you need it. You can move the screen around the garden to change views as the seasons change, or bring it up close to the house to create a secluded outdoor living zone. Use it to define garden spaces, dress up ugly sheds, and hide or enhance boring walls and fences.

A screen also lets you take advantage of a sunny aspect to grow climbing annuals such as sweet peas, or maybe a few trailing plants in wall baskets.

Traditionally, lattice is made from lightweight strips of timber, but now it's also available in easy-care fibre-cement material. Offering good weather resistance, fibre-cement lattice has the advantage of being flat and having no joints, so you can paint it with a roller. Like timber lattice, it's available in either square or diamond patterns.

You'll need:
2 panels of 2400 x 900mm fibre-cement lattice
5 x 2.5m lengths of treated-pine lattice frame
2 x 900mm lengths of 100 x 50mm timber for the feet
2 plastic post knobs for the top
4 metal corner brackets
4 galvanised 100 x 10mm bolts and washers
2 metal handles
Screws, hammer and nails

Here's how:
1. Lay the lattice screens side-by-side on a flat surface. Cut lengths of lattice frame to fit around the top, bottom and sides of the screen, making the side pieces about 20cm longer so they act as legs.

2.Assemble the frame elements around the two panels of lattice, and secure the joints with nails. For additional stability, screw on metal brackets at each corner.