The English call them pea sticks

Sunset, Feb, 1989

When English gardeners prune in spring, they set aside the long, branched cuttings ftom deciduous trees and shrubs to use for plant supports. Referred to as pea sticks, these natural materials are good-looking, they disappear quickly as the garden grows around and through them, and they're inexpensive and expendable.

In the photograph above, bamboo stakes support a growing row of peas. Around perennials that have a tendency to flop, shorter prunings are often pushed into the ground in an inward-tilting ring. As the perennials grow, they hide the branch network that keeps them erect.