As will be explained later in more detail, a properly maintained paper wall may last over twenty years. In combination with trace amounts of sulfur, which is always present in newsprint, the dense and airless structure of paper walls make it unpalatable to animals, including insects. Termites, the most ubiquitous insects of our region's forests, never touch my paper walls. First, a paper wall is built to enclose or to form a side of a flower bed. Once thoroughly moistened, a paper wall will stay wet for weeks or even months and protect the bed from drying out.
Flower beds enclosed by a paper wall require less watering during dry periods.
I admit that this wasn't on my mind when I built my first paper wall, in fact, I had no idea how it would look in a year or two. Just as quickly as this particular vision evaporated, the surprisingly pleasant reality took its place. A good number of people have seen my paper walls and I am still to find the one person who will correctly recognize the material from which they were made. One of the most frequently asked questions about paper walls concerns their durability. I faced it myself, some twenty years ago, when I started experimenting with stacking up old newspapers in a remote corner of my garden.