Invasive Bittersweet Baskets (SOLD OUT)
Sat, Feb 04
|Viles Arboretum
Learn to identify, gather/remove and make a round, twined basket using invasive bittersweet vines.


Time & Location
Feb 04, 2023, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Viles Arboretum, 153 Hospital St, Augusta, ME 04330, USA
About the event
So-called "Oriental" or round-leafed bittersweet is a creeping vine with inedible berries that is considered invasive in North America. Frustrating to gardeners and arborists, and not readily favored by birds, bittersweet is a largely useless bane on wild land. We can use traditional harvesting techniques to tend Asian bittersweet in the wild: harvesting material for baskets while controlling and suppressing future damaging growth.
Learn to make a beautiful basket of invasive round-leafed bittersweet! We'll cover identification, responsible collection, materials processing and storage, and creation, including the basics of stake-and-strand twining and weaving. We'll plan for a basket about 8" wide and 6" deep. $60 includes all required tools, materials, and tuition.
Space in this class is limited to 6 participants. Preregistration, along with a paid deposit, is required to reserve a spot in the class. Deposits may be fully refunded in the event of a cancellation a week or more…