Repurposed Thorny Olive Arbor

When we moved to our semi-wooded half acre a few years ago, the entire property was being taken over by thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens). The woods on three sides were an impassable thicket, with huge hedges sending out ten foot stems in arching aerial shoots. We definitely had to remove these hardy invasive, but no reason to let the material go to waste.

Our front yard has a row of garden plots where a driveway used to be, and the Missus thought an arbor would be a nice addition on the end. I thought the long canes from the thorny olive bushes might make good arbor-building material. After removing the turf from the site, I set segments of PVC pipe to hold the canes. Wedging in as many as I could on both sides, I brought them together and tied them with twine, then tied in cross supports for stability.

The first year we grew green beans, enough to cover the structure, and passion vine, which attracted hundreds of butterflies to the yard. The arches held up well, but most of the canes had to be replaced after a year or so. Eventually I put in permanent arch supports of 1/4" rebar, hidden in thorny olive canes. Then last year we planted muscadine on one side and kiwi vines on the other, hoping to create a permanent living, fruit bearing structure. This year we also planted snow peas, so we'd have something to harvest while the muscadines and kiwis took over the space.

What was your solution?

Can these be made into wreaths and baskets? This might turn into a nice cottage industry.

Anne Miller wrote:What was your solution?

Can these be made into wreaths and baskets? This might turn into a nice cottage industry.

Sorry - I mistakenly hit Submit before I was finished with the post.  So far I've made the arbor, a few wattle retaining fences, and a number of giant tomato cages by twisting the canes into different sized wreaths. One you learn to strip off the thorns, it's really good material to work with.