The Arches Into The Allee in 2024
Rick and I were having dinner under the pergola tonight and he noticed that the hornbeam hedge that frames the allee had finally knitted together atop the steel arches. We planted these 36 hornbeam trees from cuttings in 2017. It took about five years for them to totally mature. Now they are a solid hedgerow, so we thought we’d give you an update on the arches into the allee in 2024.
Adding the Arches
When we first stuck those cuttings into the dirt here at Mezzacello Urban Farm I never imagined they would become so large, lush, and dense. But Rick had a vision and he had patience.
Over the years we added many effects to the allee to give the openings character and provide structure for the branches to grow over. We tried wood trellis, we tried steel poles and wire. But it was when we were in Norfolk, Virginia visiting our family that we stopped into Anderson and Wright and saw these arches.
If you are ever in downtown Olde Portsmouth, you must stop in and meet these gents! The arches were steel and modular. So we bought two of them and stuffed them into the back of the BMW and drove them home. Their gracious curves fit nicely in the garden and now that I am transitioning everything to steel at Mezzacello, they feel right at home.
