The whole Platform, including the sides, will have to be covered in something or other. With the idea that cables can look a bit like roots meandering and crossing over each other, I made this test piece:

The cables are two stitches wide, with a variable number of purls between them. I tried to have them meander a bit and cross over each other randomly. Here you can see it installed around the edge of the platform:

I think this kind of edge covering would be very effective with a copse of trees and some bushes right next to it. Having some additional stuff hang over the roots is also fun:

I think the motto for this project needs to be “The More, the Better!”