Raised bed project

I have decided to try and create 4 raised beds in an area of our property that has traditionally been difficult to maintain as grass. We could really use the extra space also for root vegetables. It has been hard to grow them in the garden, as the soil is not yet loose enough or deep enough to make it the ideal situation for root crops. I was originally going to purchase hardware sets from a garden supply company, and lumber from the local supplier, but then had an idea…
Why not make woven raised beds from cuttings around our property! Several good reasons for this:
1 - Cost effective; I don't have a lot of extra money right now, and even though I would consider a good investment, it would still be quite expensive to start them. With the cuttings, they are free, and it is just a little extra time to build them.
2 - Using "green" or renewable resources versus feeding the commercial lumber industry. I am very much trying to more conscious of what items we buy, use and what we recycle.
3 - Use proven method that has worked for centuries! My husband and I frequently visit Colonial Williamsburg, and have seen such woven retaining walls in use in their colonial nursery. Also, I believe this method is, and has been used in Europe.

Above you can see the start of the first raised bed. I used branches that were about 1 inch thick for the corners. The other uprights are approximately 1/2 inch thick, spaced every 6 inches or so.

My piles of Rose of Sharon that I cut to make into the weaving stems. The pile on the left are the prepared branches. The pile in the middle are prepared, but thicker, more useful for the corners. The pile remaining on the right are the original cuttings. We have Rose of Sharon that spring up all over our property, and they get to be quite plentiful, so when I was contemplating this whole pursuit, I thought we could make use of all the extra branches we have.

Above, a couple of pics of the weaving so far.

A ground view - it is up about 4-5 inches! A few more to go though! I am hoping to get to at least 8 inches high, maybe even 12.