Garden trellis made of sticks

We had a week of unseasonably warm weather here in Minnesota, with temperatures topping 80 degrees Fahrenheit last Monday. While I moderated a conference session on the impacts of climate change last week and I know that this weather part of warming trends, I enjoyed it thoroughly. In preparation for growing season, I moved my upcycling outside.

As you know from my previous post on winter sowing, I am hoping to soon be planting peas. I could have purchased trellises, but I decided to make mine with found objects, namely sticks. I made one branch trellis last year so I had some experience under my belt.

In the weeks before, I had been collecting sticks during my daily walks.  During these walks, a few dogs looked at me longingly as I walked by with a stick. I felt bad in one instance and gave up my finds to the neighbor's dog. 

When I constructed last year's trellis, I tried various ways of attaching the sticks - nails, screws and rope. I landed on lashing as the most effective method and decided to use that exclusively on this trellis. I used a mixture of fabric strips and string to lash.

I started by trimming the smaller branches from the sticks that were going to be my vertical posts and laid them down. I then used fabric strips to tie together the first two sticks. I then attached the horizontal stick to a few more vertical ones. I used a garden stake to line up the ends of the sticks to ensure a level bottom. 

I kept adding sticks to crosswise until the trellis was stable enough to lean up against the wall of the house.  It is easier to work on the structure when it is upright.  

I continued to add sticks until the trellis was the size I wanted. Then I moved it to where I was going to plant the peas. I  tied the trellis to the fence so it wouldn't flop over onto an unsuspecting pedestrian.  Can't wait until the peas are ready to plant!