I wanted to grow some moonflower vine by my deck but there wasn’t the perfect place to put a trellis. Unless I was willing to suspend something from the nearby deck framing. That open space, and some cedar branches, came together in the following weekend project.
Ingredients:
Sturdy branches that are either relitively newly cut or a hardwood that’s been stored in a dry space. In other words, you don’t want to use branches that are near rotten and easily broken.
Screws that are thin enough to go into these branches without pre-drilling.
Bark covered wire.
Grapevine garland for covering support and hanging lines, optional.
The annual vines of your choice.
Cut your branches to be the height and width that will fit in the location where you will mount or hang the trellis. Lay them out on a flat surfce to determine which branch will go where. The wire and the garland at the top of the photo will be used for decorative purposes – the real structural work will be done by the branches and screws, plus wire for hanging.
Screw the cross pieces into the uprights. I was originally thinking of attaching it all with wires but my husband wisely pointed out that when it all moved in the winds the pieces would shift and could cause harm to the vines. Smart man.
After the pieces were screwed, however, I put the bark covered wire over each intersection for decorative purposes.
The trellis has been hung! I used the grapevine garland to hide the wires that actually support this structure. The moonflower have been planted in a large pot so that they are at deck level and will get good morning light. I’ve also used a piece of bark covered wire to guide the vines from the pot to the first two tiers of branches. After that they should be good to go on their own.
