Making a Bamboo Trellis

It all started when my entire grove of bamboo died during the winter and didn't green up this spring. I cut the stalks down and found myself wondering what to do with them. There is a lot of character in most of the pieces, interesting crooks and curves.
So with a few basic tools, I decided to make a trellis for my moonflower vine.

This is where I usually put up a black metal trellis and I always have a moonflower vine that grows up the trellis and shades my deck a bit.

I started by just sticking the longer bamboo stalks into the ground about six inches and I secured them to the deck railing by tying them with some baling twine I had.

After I had covered the area with the stalks set about 8-10 inches apart, I began placing the horizontal stalks to create the grid. I tied the horizontal pieces to the vertical pieces about every other stalk. I used a small hacksaw to trim the ends of the horizontal pieces to keep them from extending past the edge of the deck.

Before I started the trellis, I planted the moonflower vines and some morning glories too!

For absolutely no cost, I now have a sturdy trellis, one with a lot of character.

The trellis took about an hour to create, although I must admit it took a lot longer to cut down the bamboo and trim the branches from the stalks.

I left the top vertical edges uneven to allow the vines to grow up willy nilly!

Now I just need to wait patiently for the vines to grow!