The best use for a Bradford Pear...
I needed a border for one of the smaller gardens - the Sunflower Garden. But I knew I did not want a traditional fence. I decided on a log wall and dead hedge, and then the opportunity presented itself. We were cutting down a couple of non-native, invasive Bradford Pears and I decided to use the wood for this project.
I cut the logs as uniformly as I could. I stacked them fairly randomly, starting with the larger logs at the bottom, and interweaving various sizes throughout the stack.
I wedged a piece of wood at the open end of the stack to prevent the logs from rolling.
And here is a view of the log wall after the wood aged.
For the dead hedge, I started with pieces of metal in the ground as a frame to hold the twigs together. Then stacked the twigs making sure there are enough long pieces to hold the structure together.
It was a fun weekend project and quite satisfying.
The third side of the Sunflower Garden was finished with limestone boulders. I felt like there was something missing where the two materials - wood and stone- met. That corner just felt unfinished. I decided to anchor it with some logs that also serve as stepping stones, tables or seating spaces.
The wood has now aged in appearance but still looks nice and serves its purpose. And the dead hedge seems to be a favorite spot of Texas spiny lizards.
