Getting out campsite sorted has been underway for a while now. The main pillars of comfort have been established. There is a place to sleep, a kitchen, and even an outhouse to bathe in. To me the finishing touches to a living space are planting a landscape of life and colors.
The main project of these last few weeks has been making an outdoor "room" with a little fire pit. A couple of years ago I began making this earthen bench which I decided to add a couple of layers to last week.
With the remaining mixture from a recent cob project I have added a few more flower beds to the edges of the open-are kitchen.
I prepped the space by digging out a bowl shape of the existing gravel and spraying the entire area down with hose water before I was ready to begin shaping the cob walls.
Cob is similar to cement, in a way. Unlike cement though, cob is handmade and accessible to pretty much anyone for free or nearly. Most people consider cob to be a mixture of clay, sand, and natural fibers like straw.
Another main difference between cement and cob is that cob can be worked with bare hands. Much less resistant to the weather, cob is sure to wear down after a few years. But, as this is a natural landscape of dirt, soil, plants, and rocks, these cob borders will simple melt in with the elements around it.
I created four rounded borders at the base of each pillar, let it dry for a couple of days then began the fun part of filling the flower beds with soil and plants.
My co-gardener chose a mixture of native plants and drought resistant flowers to populate these new garden areas. And after watering the soil in well I planted the yarrow, sage, and California mugwort.
To protect the cob mix I will paint them with a clay infused lime wash. So far I have painted the two on the sunny side of the kitchen while the shady side dries fully. It is exciting to see these cob sculptures evolve, change, and get covered in my favorite plants.
Excellent to see you doing this. I built a stone wall with mud mortar recently and can see after a few months that the thinner sections of the wall are a bit weak and could break before the year is out. Cob might be a way to make it stronger. Just need to figure out where is the best place to find clay around here. I have a memory of seeing it on one of my walks.
Many thanks for the inspiration.
Amazing and this kind of furniture is very good in summer.
Nice
Cob is actually what we use here in the northern parts for buildings. Even when the weather is hot, the rooms are just so cool.
Oh, a little confession:
The picture of you smoothing the cob was so enchanting in my eyes, I had to save it on my phone. That picture speaks so much inspiration.
I love to hear that cob is what people use where you live! You are located in Ghana, right? Do you call it cob there or is there another word which people use as well as cob? Sadly cob is not a common building material anymore in the United States where I am visiting now but, it is still so useful!! And, as you say, it is great for keeping a house cool even in the hottest of weather.
Yeah you’re right, Ghana.
No, it’s we say clay mix and call the buildings mud houses.