Deep-Rooted Wisdom by Augustus Jenkins Farmer

Author:Augustus Jenkins Farmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Timber Press
Published: 2014-08-19T16:00:00+00:00

I get great pleasure out of weaving and making things with dry branches, vines, and old bamboo. And, again, time permitting, it can be a joy to make your structures stand out as artful, sculptural, and fun things all on their own. After all, vines will take a bit of time to grow out and cover them, so you’ll have to look at that support structure for a while; why not spend a few minutes to make your trellis beautiful? And sometimes it doesn’t even take more than a change in your perspective and expectations as to what makes something beautiful. You can take three sticks, quickly tie them into a wooden teepee with wire, and have yourself a simple bean trellis. But from another angle, those three sticks, smoothed by years of use, tied together with coarse twine, can make a rustically beautiful thing. Try looking at the common resources in your backyard through someone else’s eyes. Imagine you’re walking through a little village in Thailand and watching an old woman put together a three-legged bean trellis made of bleached knotty sticks. It might just be a simple bean trellis to her, but you’ll see the simple beauty of it—those sticks could be sculpture on your living room wall, a token of your journey.

Garden stores and catalogs will sell and market their structures and trellises as “prefabricated,” which often means collapsible and shippable. But, as a result, it also often means they’re undersized for many vines. And their production and transportation can hugely contribute to environmental problems of waste and air pollution. Even those “composite” wood boards and little metal trellises made of cheap recycled metals are not nearly as innocent as they make themselves out to be.

Luckily, I don’t often find myself in places that sell those fans and little trellises, so I’m not tempted—and I have an abundance of yard waste to work with. Those in condos, or with neat, tidy gardens, don’t always have the same luxury, which is another compelling reason to think about materials for construction and weaving garden structures when you select your trees and shrubs. You can also always keep your eye out for your neighbor’s yard waste piles, too; once you’ve had your eyes open to the possibilities, you’ll be amazed by the beautiful branches that they throw away.

From a design perspective, handmade structures become visual tributes to the people who made them. From an environmental perspective, it is essential that we make the most out of the things we have in our yards and nearby in order to reduce the environmental demands of shipping materials around the globe. And practically speaking, what we’re often seeking in our yards and gardens—shade and support—can be accomplished with just a simple stick in the ground. Home-sourced, handmade structures offer all of that, and they’re quick, easy, honest, cheap, customizable, and charming.

The Teachers

SUE AND BAN VAN

In 1974, while I was climbing magnolia trees and catching frogs, two boys about my age spent their time in Jardin des Tuileries in central Paris.

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