Outdoor Furniture, Patio Furniture and more!

Our guest post this week is by Debbie Roberts, owner and principal designer of Roberts & Roberts Landscape and Garden Design based in Stamford, CT.  Attention to detail, sustainable practices and close collaboration with her clients are hallmarks of Debbie’s work.   From woodland pathways to front entry gardens to patios and pergolas, Debbie draws on a diverse scope of influences to enhance her designs.  Plants chosen specifically for each site, combined with attention to even the smallest design detail which often showcases the owner’s unique personality, mean no two finished landscapes are ever the same.

Climbing plants and vines are a vibrant design element that is missing from many gardens.  For some reason, seamlessly incorporating these plants into a flower garden or mixed planting bed is a bewildering task for both newbie gardeners and green thumbs alike.  But using climbing plants and vines is a simple and effective way to add another dimension to any garden.  Climbing plants add an instant sense of scale and permanence to a garden and transform it from ordinary to extraordinary in no time.

Some climbing plants, like climbing roses, climbing hydrangea and wisteria, take several growing seasons to make a statement in your garden and require a strong support structure, such as a pergola, arbor or fence, to grow on.  But, these garden structures can be difficult to design into every garden.  A more versatile solution to blending climbing plants into your garden is through the use of trellises and obelisks.

A trellis is an ideal choice for supporting climbing plants in a small garden, where a fence or wall may be too overwhelming and feel claustrophobic. A trellis screen, whether it’s a single panel or a multi-panel structure, can be used to create a secluded eating area or to screen out an undesirable view.  A trellis can be made from a variety of different materials, including wood, vinyl, metal, wire, grape vines, and bamboo and on and on.  Choose a material that complements your garden style.  Generally, natural materials work well in informal garden settings while trellises constructed of wrought iron or metal are at home in a more formal setting.

An obelisk, a simple garden ornament with four sides at the base which taper to the top and are usually topped with a finial of some sort, is even more versatile because it can be moved from location to location in your garden.  Your choice of an obelisk for your garden can speak volumes about you – it can be a simple and uncluttered charmer, a classic and romantic filigreed treasure or a modern and eclectic masterpiece that is a playful and whimsical addition to your garden.

Now that you’ve decided to add more visual interest to your garden with a trellis or obelisk, it’s time to think about what kind of climbing plant or vine to grow on it.  It’s important to know that plants climb in different ways – some curl around supports, some have tendrils that wrap about a support structure and others literally adhere to a nearby support.  It’s best to use vines and climbing plants that are not too vigorous so they don’t overwhelm your new trellis or obelisk.  Annual flowering vines, like cardinal climber (Ipomoea x multifida), sweet peas (Lathyrus) or purple hyacinth bean (Dalichos lablab) and later blooming clematis, such as ‘Ernest Markam’ and ‘Jackmanni ‘, are good choice for more delicate trellises and obelisks.  And don’t forget, many vegetables grow on vines which are also highly ornamental.  Purple pole beans and scarlet runner beans are two delicious choices.   Remember, it’s perfectly fine to grow more than one climber at a time on the same structure.

So, be creative with your choice of a trellis or obelisk, have fun combining different flower and foliage colors and enjoy a long season of color and interest in your garden.

Debbie

Debbie is a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) and is a founding member of the Connecticut Chapter of APLD.  Debbie’s blog A Garden of Possibilities features plant profiles, insights on garden design and musings on gardening in her corner of Connecticut (zone 6). She is also a member of a select group of international garden and landscape designers, The Garden Designers Roundtable, who blog monthly about various garden design topics.

You can follow Debbie on Twitter or connect with her via LinkedIn.

Tags: arbor, obelisk, pergola, trellis