Lots of sawing & hammering & screwdrivering today. Finished two ten-foot
trellises, one shorter trellis that will keep the back of the abutilon
from covering the back steps all the time, repaired a rustic wooden bench,
have some of the wood cut for an enormous trellis to afix to the house, a
bit else. Drilled holes in bottom end of a couple of short posts that were
salvaged off of an old Chinese junk (we have lots of other bits of that
salvage for the garden), & will insert rebar in the holes & use these for
hose guards. They were originally for the junk to be tied to a pier.

One reason Granny Artemis & I could get so many trellises (plus other
little projects) either completed or well along so fast is we "cheated" on
the trellis construction & I wanted to share what we did.

You know those cheap garden trellises available most everywhere, stapled
together from one-by-ones? Eight-footers cost $17, hard to buy the wood
any cheaper than that. We bought some of those plus some ten-foot
one-by-two cedar boards with which to simply "frame" the cheap trellises
-- just takes a saw, a bit of glue, & nails. The verticle sides of the
frame were left full length (with the ten-foot two-by-ones), so the
strengthened trellises end up with two two-foot legs. The abutilon trellis
was an even cheaper little trellis likewise framed by one-by-twos. Some
transparent redwood-colored protective oil finishes them off (got all
industrious with the stain & while we were at it stained a
mildew-discolored chair so it looks all bight -- we'd previously left that
chair unstained because we wanted it to weather, but it got spotty instead
of just darkening, so the stain revived it; then stained the unpainted
back stair while attaching the abutilon trellis, so there's redwood
colored wood here & there, makes a nice backdrop for all the greenery).

In framing the trellises we were only wanting to make them sturdy, because
they're not very well made as-is, the staples popping loose with too much
ease. But they actually come out looking like really great expensive
trellises, plus getting the two-foot legs makes them look a whole lot
bigger.

So -- a cheap way, without too much labor, to transform ordinary trellises
into strong & first-rate trellises, sturdy enough they could even be
turned into free-standing arbors if needed. The really huge one, though,
is being made totally from scratch, because it needs to fit between two
windows just perfectly. Lots more carpentering projects to do if we don't
wear out too soon (Granny Artemis is the real carpenter, I just get to
stain & suggest). It suddenly seems like it would be easy to make a
trellis-sided rain-house to cover the stone bench.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

If you are building with wood that is worth the trouble then look into
stainless steel ring shanked siding nails.

(paghat) expounded:

So -- a cheap way, without too much labor, to transform ordinary trellises
into strong & first-rate trellises, sturdy enough they could even be
turned into free-standing arbors if needed. The really huge one, though,
is being made totally from scratch, because it needs to fit between two
windows just perfectly. Lots more carpentering projects to do if we don't
wear out too soon (Granny Artemis is the real carpenter, I just get to
stain & suggest). It suddenly seems like it would be easy to make a
trellis-sided rain-house to cover the stone bench.

Pictures, someday? )

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************