Build a Trellis: No Space to Grow a Garden? Think Again!

How do you make room for growing beautiful climbers and ramblers with limited space? Grow up! These easy-to-build trellis projects take vertical gardening to new heights and are sure to get your small-space garden "off the ground." -Tabitha Sukhai, thisoldhouse.com

Whether you call it a pyramid, an obelisk, or a tuteur trellis, this distinctive garden structure is a hallmark of cottage style. Trellises have a long history of supporting climbing and vining plants, and the tapered, freestanding version shown here remains a fixture of many an English garden, where it gives clematis and other flowering climbers a sturdy platform and a chance at sun. But we wouldn't fault you for using a trellis in a purely decorative way, either. For full step-by-step instructions to build this in just a couple of hours, see How to Build a Pyramid Trellis.

A wall covered with climbing vines may benefit the fairy-tale suitor who scales it to reach his true love, but in the real world the twisting tendrils will wreak havoc on your house's siding. Better that you create a buffer between the foliage and the facade with a garden trellis. Not only will it provide the plants with a more appropriate host, but it will also give you something better than a blank wall to look at when summer's greenery fades. You can create this handsome piece this weekend! See step-by-step instructions in How to Build a Trellis.

Ever since colonial-era homesteaders wove wattle garden structures from unbranched shoots of willow or hazel and set their peas to clamber over rows of tiny-twigged birch limbs, countless generations have used sticks to prop up their plants. Today, homeowners who want to combine beauty and ­utility can do the same. Get this look in no time flat with a little step-by-step help from How to Build a Branch Trellis in a Pot.

Neighbors on your nerves? Or maybe it's just the constantly buzzing AC peeking at you from the corner of the house. Either way, this living, leafy privacy planter provides an attractive screen, not to mention a convenient way to exercise your green thumb. How to Build a Privacy Planter will help you get the job done fast.




If the potted branch-trellis doesn't work for you, try this easy-to-build Diamond-Patterned Twig Trellis.