Garden Additions

M Making the New Trellis

Earlier in the year, I had M prune the Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) vine which was sprawling all over the ground because the purchased trellis it had been growing on had deteriorated and broken down over the years.  I had planned to purchase another trellis, but, trellises are costly!  "Let's make one", I suggested to M.  "We can use some of the long branches we saved when you pruned the bottle brush tree!"  I think he was a bit skeptical, but, he always says it's my garden and I'm the boss!  LOL.  There's a reason why we get along so well and he's been tending to the garden for 31 years!

At first, I was going to do it, myself.  But, I didn't have the proper tools to trim the branches to size and, with one thing or another, the trellis didn't get built.  In the meantime, the star jasmine vine started to show new growth and flower buds started to appear.

On Friday, with rain in the forecast for the weekend, I told M not to bother watering the garden and we decided it was a good time to put together a trellis for the star jasmine.  Obviously, M did the work, while I directed and, occasionally, assisted with holding the cross pieces in place while he tied them.  I didn't want the trellis to be taller than the wall, so, M cut the poles to size.  This way, the wall will help protect the trellis from strong winds and minimize its chances of being blown down!

New Garden Trellis

Home grown, all natural, custom made, rustic trellis!  We decided to keep all the little branches in place as additional support for the vines.  Then, we draped some of the vines on the trellis to encourage them the grow up, instead of sprawling in a heap on the ground:

New Garden Trellis for the Star Jasmine Vine

I wondered if we needed to put some small rocks at the base to keep the trellis in place, but, M didn't think so.  We can always add them, later, if needed.  I told M that he should include "builds custom trellises" to his resume - he put together one with PVC pipes and chicken wire for my mother for her jasmine vine, several years ago, and now, he's put together another trellis for me.  

I love my new trellis!  What do you think?

In addition to the new trellis, we have a new plant for the garden:

New Tomato Plant

It's an heirloom tomato named "Berkeley Tie-Dye", which M selected in honor of my daughter!  

Tomato Plant Tag: "Caution: may cause flashbacks!"

Looking forward to seeing the "striking metalic green and red striped" tomatoes that are supposed to be a "delicious conversation piece" as described in the tag!  

We've had a rainy weekend, here, with rain on both Saturday and Sunday.  The garden has been well watered!  It's a bit chilly for me with night time temperatures of 46F and daytime highs of 55F, so, I've had the heater on all weekend.

I'm grateful for:

- M's willingness and help with the garden
- A new, very organic and homegrown trellis
- Rain for the garden
- A new tomato plant
- A working heater

My joyful activities have included supervising the making of the new trellis, gardening, celebrating the Sri Lankan new year, and phone calls with family and friends.

How is your weekend coming along?  What do you think of the new trellis?  Have you grown this type of heirloom tomatoes?