Are you in need of some ideas to spruce up your backyard and get it ready for sunnier days? A trellis—which is different from a pergola and an arbor—is a wooden or metal structure used to support climbing plants or trees. Most trellises feature an open framework that consists of vertical or horizontal slats, allowing a plant to wrap around it.
Incorporating a trellis into your yard is an easy and generally inexpensive way to get your landscape renovation literally off the ground. There are even certain types of trellises that can provide a wall of privacy in your backyard. Here are the best ways to keep all your greenery headed for the sky.
1. Wooden fan trellis
A drab wall can actually be the perfect backdrop for a fan trellis, which is structured to open upward from the bottom to the top. Whether you're going to DIY or buy a pre-made structure, opt for pressure-treated wood, says Danny Lipford, home improvement expert and host of "Today’s Homeowner." Since the trellis often supports twining vines that wrap around it, you want wood that will resist rot. And just be sure to plant lightweight vines such as jasmine or honeysuckle, as this trellis can't support heavier vines, like wisteria.
2. Curved double trellis
Amp your patio's charm factor by adding an elegant trellis on either side of a door or window. Framing an opening this way can put focus on architectural details and soften the surrounding walls with curtains of vines. A yellow thunbergia or purple climbing hyacinth are perfect plants for a small-framed trellis. An extra incentive for adding a delicate, cast-iron trellis to your yard? You'll have something pretty to look at in the winter when the plants are cut back.
3. Trellis for climbing veggies
If you've ever planted cucumbers, beans, or zucchini, you know those growing veggies need something sturdy to climb on. Enter this triangular wooden trellis made of bamboo and garden twine. Not only will you get your cucumbers off the ground, but the lush greenery will also create a living teepee during the summer growing season. If you decide to build this type of trellis, make sure to sink the bamboo poles at least eight inches into the ground and secure the top of the structure with rope that won't snap under a load.
4. Privacy fence trellis ideas
Need a trellis that holds plants and also protects your yard from looky-loos or curious critters? A privacy fence is for you. Design expert Chelsea Lipford Wolf built has experience building this type of trellis for a friend who didn't like her "boring and uninspiring patio area," which opened to her neighbor’s yard.
You can either plant a climbing vine at the base of the trellis or add small potted plants, as Wolf did. "We added some beautiful flowers to the pots—you can plant different flowers to change it up or to suit the season," she says.
5. Metal trellis with a pop of color
Gardens are a place to embrace color. So why not add a flourishing garden trellis in a deep shade like purple or terra cotta? The garden trellis above gets the vines off the ground without taking up too much space. And the sturdy wires are the perfect support for heavier climbers like trumpet vines.
6. Crisscross wire trellis
This is an ancient horticultural practice that controls the growth of woody fruit plants—think apples, figs or lemons—by pruning and tying branches to a frame. If your backyard is nice and sunny, consider planting some fruit trees along a wall and practicing the art of espaliering. Your wall acts as the trellis support and wire attached to the wall in a crisscross acts as a de facto lattice. Then you simply shape and train your branches by anchoring them to the crisscrossed wire. Espaliering requires you to keep your pruning shears at the ready, but if it's done right, you'll have a beautiful work of garden art.
7. Floating wall trellises
If you're short on space, you can still embrace good garden design by adding several smaller metal trellises to a wall or fence. Paint them and add three different types of climbers, like the ones above, and your thumb will officially be green. Just remember to give these trellises a chance to shine if they are low to the ground; so don't block them with taller plants. Go for low ground cover, like flowering thyme or blue star creeper.
