Growing Up!
I’ve always had trouble dealing with vines. A big part of the problem has been that I didn’t have suitable structures on which to support them. Until this year, I haven’t had any fences for training vines, and although I’ve occasionally purchased small pillars or trellises, I’ve never had any that I really loved.
Imagine my surprise when I woke up this spring and found myself married to a welder! My husband, Peter, has long wanted to learn to weld to make sculptures. Last year, he set up a shop in the garage, and he started with those. Below, he’s discussing one of the boat sculptures he created of a friend’s Nonsuch sailboat at a recent show in Chestertown.
Happily, he was also interested in making garden sculpture. I wanted to share pictures of the pieces he has made for me thus far.
This trellis is 8 feet tall and was made from the steel rounds left from two half whiskey barrels. The smaller circles are from another wooden container I had that also rotted. At the top is one of the first boats he designed. I displayed it in a houseplant until he took it away to re-use. Fortunately I got it back!
The vine growing on the trellis is a favorite of mine, it’s scarlet or Texas clematis (Clematis texensis). It’s a native that’s rare in commerce, I think. I grew my plants from seed obtained from the Hardy Plant/Mid-Atlantic Group Seed Exchange.
I haven’t figured out how to get a great picture of the first pillar he made, which now supports a clematis ‘Henryi’. Until this year, it has been shamelessly supported by a too-small teepee supplemented by bamboo stakes. (You will NOT bee seeing a picture of this arrangement!)
Originally, I asked for a simple pillar with three or four legs, but he took the idea up to his shop and came back with a one that features metal vines climbing inside and a bird’s nest. The winglike structures at top and bottom are made from lawn mower blades. As one friend put it, now I have a pillar that’s too pretty to grow vines on.
The bird’s nest is made from metal scraps, washers, screws, small saw blades, and the like.
You can bet I have lots more ideas of welded items I’d like for my garden, but I would like to put it out there that Peter is planning to make more trellises to sell. Send me an e-mail at hackberrypoint@gmail.com if you are interested. He’s got a stockpile of earth augers and other interesting metal bits to use, but is also happy to use interesting metal scrap to make custom pieces.
How lucky we are to have you and Pete living here. The sculptures are incredible …… to support your beautiful vines….
Hi Barb,
The welding art if cool! I like the vine trellis. We have both a california climbing jasmine and a morning glory on our trellis in the garden. If you recall the blank dirt lot in the back of our home, (brand new when you saw it), to the left of the back door was a fence and trellis. That back lot is now a garden outdoor room. I’ll take some pics and send them so you can get a better feel for it.
Anyhow, love the blog, the pic of Pete with his Nonsuch, and your vines. Great to be back in touch! Hugs, Bill
Wonderful to hear from you! Peter just stocked up on more metal for more trellises. We also went dumpster diving and he has some gigantic earth augers that he wants to put in trellises as well. In addition, he’s starting on a series of Skipjacks.
I envy you your outdoor room. We have a nice deck space, and use it more now because we fenced the backyard. I sit out and read while they encourage me to throw tennis balls.