Garden-made trellis

I built A-frame two trellises (trelli ??) this weekend with some left over limbs from some long-ago yard demolition work. I'd like to say that I waited so long to use the limbs because I built a tee pee for my son with them, which is true. However, the tee pee came down half a year ago and he didn't really care for it anyway, so it could have come down sooner. I do like that that I was able to reduce the apparent level of debris in the yard and reduce my waste stream (or fire wood pile) at the same time.

There they are leaning against the fence.

The wooden pieces that make up the trellises are all tied together with wire. I think it's a galvanized wire, but I've forgotten where and when I bought it. What I do know is that I've used non-galvanized wire on other outdoor projects and they don't last too long due to corrosion.

On the right, a gift boysenberry(?) vine from Mike K. can now see the sun for longer periods of time. At left, Vitus californica "Rogers Red" grape vine is planted at the base. The grape vine languished on the ground all summer and now is reluctant to be easily repositioned onto the trellis. Native plants in view are Epilobium canum (formerly Zaushneria, aka California fuschia) behind the sun dial. That's been a real winner for me with great red color at a time when many other garden flowers have shut down. I have another sub species elsewhere in the garden. Low growing blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum - could be "Rocky Point" as my clumps don't seem as large as the undifferentiated species are claimed to be) is to the right of the sundial's base. With water, this will make it through the summer, but it reseeds well and can go summer dormant, so maybe next summer I won't apply water. Behind the stump (which is just placed there for interest and as a stool) and also to the right of it are two Linum lewisii (blue flax). I need another few of those.

I don't know if the Ceanothus in the foreground ("Darkstar"?) will grow to shade the vines too much.


In other weekend activity, my son and I dug out a small area for the new porch that I will install off my bedroom door into the back yard and filled it with sand. I'll use my very own cast concrete pavers - four initially - to provide the walking surface. For now it's just a shallow pit with landscape fabric at the bottom covered in ~1.5" of sand. An old board on top lets me walk on it for now.

We also made a Sioux Indian war hammer for a class project requiring an Indian "artifact".