- build a tipi from scatch by building the tipi on the great woven base for the Tipi, cut Bamboo (Old Hamii) poles, and start growing plants to weave into the tipi.
- Discuss solar passive design for placement of ventilation, little windows and a round door.
- Demonstrate pleaching and how the living plants can be trained as they grow onto the tipi.
- Demonstrate best plants for coastal warm temperate permaculture gardens and how to manage water needs, pest and disease.
This is no ordinary TIPI, it will become a living, solar passive playhouse for children and meditative souls, and a great structure for growing vines in and around and a good little windbreak and frost protection. Grow little living TIPI, Grow!
Next workshop DATE: Wed 9th Dec Noon til 2pm Investment: $30
WHAT YOU GET – fun, weaving practice with living and fresh plant material, knowledge about plant selection for living weaves, information on micro-climates and windbreaks, solar passive housing, ideas for a great garden creation. You can take home some poles to make your own tipi.
Living fences (Hedges and woven fences) can last for centuries. They require a little protection, skill and patience in the setting-up period but their incredible strength and resilience over time is a valuable tool for gardens, farms, work and living spaces.
In this workshop, permaculture teacher April Sampson-Kelly invites you to discover how to weave borders, screens and fences (plessis) out of boughs of mulberry, hazelnut, and most other garden prunings. Plessis is an old French word for “interlacing” and plesser is the verb “to interlace or weave.” Plessis style fencing was widespread in the Middles Ages and was still used in France until the end of the 19th century. This is a beautiful, low-impact use of local resources rich in history and charm. The plessis is once again appearing in household gardens and on eco farms throughout the world. 
Following on from a happy workshop on edible basket weaving, this time they will team together to demonstrate weaving techniques on a larger scale. They offer you the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in weaving wattle borders and screens in the garden out of locally sourced shoots of chestnut, hazel, and other types of wood.
This workshop is open to all individuals, groups, gardeners, garden designers, and landscaping professionals. By the end of the day, you will have enough experience of this old technique to add rustic charm to your garden or balcony, restore a medieval garden, or enhance the beauty of your surroundings with traditional and creative artistry.
In this workshop, you will learn about:
- Permaculture designed screens for windbreaks, sun-traps and micro-climate control
- woven edging to reduce litter and fire-hazards
- Beautiful woven hurdles around raised beds
- Stakes from suitable material
- living fences
- pleached weaves of living trees
- Easy hazelnut or mulberry living fences
- Elegant multi-purpose screens to hide compost or rubbish bins or provide privacy
re-created medieval garden Commanderie des Templiers de Coulommiers - easy climbing supports for vegetables and flowers out of prunings
- How source other types of wood often found in the garden or surroundings
- How to choose strong heartwood for posts
- How to prepare stakes and garden edge for living fences
- No-dig gardening on heavy clay soils
- Edge effect and choice of materials
- tour the extensive no-dig gardens at Permaculture Visions Demonstration Garden.
INVESTMENT: $30
Think of how much you will save in fencing and garden edging material costs AND save in having to bundle and dispose of prunings if you didn’t have a woven fencing project like this to use the prunings.
BRING: hat, gumboots, warm, comfortable clothes suitable for the current weather conditions raincoat (yes we can garden in the rain and often farmers have to do fencing in wild conditions), GLOVES, camera, a little bit of determination.
Instructors: Permaculture Wollongong Institute lead teachers: April Sampson-Kelly and Shane Moon (key organiser of the fabulous PWI Clothes-Swap and other workshops).
Bookings April 0413539744 or Shane 0414937270
