Vertical elements: I have a steel arbor over a brick pathway purchased 7 years ago from Smith and Hawkins. Currently, there are two roses growing on it, but that may change as the roses have not done well.

I also have a piece of tall wrought iron fencing rescued from the curb used for my grape vine.

In addition, I have a painted post with finial on top with a lantern hanging from it in the middle of one garden bed, as well as two steel trellises with coral vines, plus three run-of-the-mill birdbaths and a sundial. The sundial pedestal was picked up from the curb. In its former life it was a birdbath whose top broke. I made a new square top for it out of concrete and then ordered a sundial to put on top.

I also have a brown chimney pot that I think looks kind of sculptural in one of my beds.

Finally, I have one homemade trellis made from several cedar fence pickets.--It's a 6 foot triangular affair painted bluish-gray. I'm growing a butterfly vine on it.

You asked about broken pots. I don't have any broken pots in my beds, but I do have a very large urn (again a curb side rescue) that had a broken base when I found it. I made a new cement base for it (cost $5.00), and it is just lovely. Honestly. My other pots are either terracotta or glazed (one green and one purple/blue).

Guess I need to take some pictures...Maybe this spring. I'm not a great photographer and don't own a digital camera.

I have a fairly large backyard so while this might sound cluttered, it's not.

If you live where termites abound, every part that touches the ground needs some kind of treatment before you build and set your trellage, unless you're using a wood that you are sure that termites won't bother.

As for assembly, my experience is that screws are better than nails. If you can weave your pieces into some kind of basketweave arrangement where they are self-supporting, then you can hold the whole thing together with safety wire. A little tool that looks like pliers but spins the wire together is very, very helpful.

Uprights need to be set in the ground about two feet deep to keep the wind from blowing everything flat.
Ask me how I know these things.

Nell

Here is a link that might be useful: Stick House

Token - your structure in that picture will require green limbs, that are flexible. Willow is choice one, dogwood is also flexible. I also discovered that what is considered a weed tree up here, the Manitoba maple, is great for this type of thing. It's like making a willow chair, sort of....get the lengths you need, and slowing bend them to your shape!!! None of them are long lasting, it will be an ongoing project. I have also heard some gardeners use pig fencing, the 4' by whatever, and bend that to be an arch. These people said it was cheap, but my co-op quoted a very high price for it - maybe I asked for the wrong thing??!!

Nell - hee-hee, we do learn by trial and error!!!
Redthistle - yes, we do need to see!!!

Nancy.

Nell, that's awesome. Thanks for posting that.

Nancy, I was thinking about bending that wood this evening. Without a steamer, I think it will be impossible. So, I may just use all my trimmings to build a few teepee trellises around the garden of different heights. I plan to use some in my veggie patch for running beans/peas and cucumbers. I guess it wouldn't hurt to do the same where I want to plant some morning glories and red cardinal climber.

I've also got a 4x4 treated and some 2x6 left over from my deck project. Another 4x4 and I can build a simple arbor over the entrance to my perennial bed by the driveway. I think that would be a better way to go for something permanent.

Thanks for the suggestions. I really don't want to spend all my time building and rebuilding a trellis. I'd rather be planting, weeding, and eating. :)

I have seven of these metal arbors. They are perfect for tendrils that wrap around, like clematis or morning glory. They are lightweight and easy to move, I have rearranged mine a few times. I have lots of different clematis growing on all of them.

Gotta, are those made from cattle panels or did you buy them?

I like your little arbor Tolken! I once tried to make a trellis out of sturdy tree branches but gave up after trying to drive the first nail.

"Vertical Elements". That made me stop to think too. I don't have any real OBJECT that is vertical. All of the trellis' are more functional than decorative; I put them against the fence to sort of 'mask' it. I have a wooden arbor (which I made) on the east side of the house.
For me I think it is more LIVING things that I use for vertical. I adore tall plants in general. Eupatorium, Hollyhocks, Thalictrum rochebrunianum, and Rudbeckia nitida 'Herbstonne' all add vertical interest. I was also thinking of getting a nice obelisk to add height for one area of my garden.

I LOVE terra cotta pots! I just like the look of them better than other pots; they blend in well with the look of my garden. I have a small collection, but it is growing. Every year I look for a terra cottas that have something unique about them, like shape or decorative design.
You can always glue your pots back together if there arn't too many pieces. Once one of my old (and thankfully unimportant) TC broke right in half. I put it on top of the ground and pushed it in slightly so it looked 'buried'. Then I planted a creeper under it and let it spill out.
If your TC is unsalvageable you can use the shards at the bottom of other pots to add a layer for drainage.
CMK

I LOVE terra cotta pots! too.

I have some very old small ones. All of them are different sizes. You can't them buy anymore.

Libby

I bought this arch from Big Lots last spring for $100. I'm also using one made from plain old reebar that my father in law gave me but I don't have a pic of it.
Jen
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Broken Pots with succulents:

Nell

Regarding vertical elements in the garden, in "Mrs. Greenthumbs: How I Turned a Boring Yard into a Glorious Garden and How You Can, Too", Cassandra Danz wrote the following about a garden she visited and loved,
"But the nicest thing about it, the exclamation point to the whole picture, was an old porch post at the corner of one of the paths. The old porch post with its peeling white paint seemed somehow romantic."..."I can't explain why, but this one vertical element made all the lovely and rare things he had planted make more sense."

I used to love watching her - sooooo funny.

Nancy.

Seventh Street Cottage - Trellis

Well, I decided to build a trellis/arbor instead of trying to do it with twigs and sticks. I'll finish it up next week once the concrete cures around the base of the posts. I've got some 2x6's left from the deck rebuild this fall. Not sure about the cross members yet. I may just use the branches for that.

Yes, I have a plan. No, I don't intend to stick with it. Now I need a bench or some Adirondack style chairs.

Oh, I hope this thread grows and grows and GROWS! I love this topic.

Here's my arbor from previous summer days. I'm still debating about what to plant on it. I want something nice to compliment it, but not overpower it. I have planted red mandevilla for the last two summers. It's nice once it gets going, but it seems to take most of the summer to get to the top.

You're in such a temperate zone, would Hyacynth Bean be good for you?? It never flowered for me.....

Nancy.

I'm not familiar with that one, Nancy. I'll check into it. Thanks for the suggestion.

-Sharon

Hyacynth Bean, what's the skinny on that one, I've heard it's edible and others say it isn't. I've read it's used in stir fry, has anyone ever cooked it? I've never got it to bloom here either. Nancy your nights are much warmer then ours I would have thought it would have done well for you.
We have vertical surfaces of different sorts around the garden but they aren't very refined, not painted or stained just left to get that aged look.

Annette

The American Horticulture Society says that Hyacinth Beans are edible with careful cooking. That's about all it says. I have eaten a couple of the beans before, raw. There's no need to wonder if they're edible. They taste terrible.

Tom, enjoyed your blog. Sounds like your cottage is going to look wonderful when you get done (although done never happens as we keep changing our gardens). With the help of the mini-blind stakes that you sent I was finally able to finish entering my 365 winter sow seeds into a spreadsheet. Now to get them all planted!

Glad to help. I had an extra blind up in the attic and had already chopped all of mine for my wintersowing. I probably have about 200 myself.

I expect this garden to be an ongoing project as long as I'm in the house. I'm using the blog to keep track of the weather and my little projects along the way. I'm guessing in the spring, it'll be more informative than it is now. It's raining again so I'm stuck inside drinking my coffee.

bamateacha, have you heard of the Corkscrew Vine, vigna caracalla? That might be spectacular on your arbor, plus it smells wonderful! I saw my first one this year at the Master Gardener Display garden and was amazed at the fragrance. I found Georgia Vines online that sell the seeds very reasonably.

Last summer I got tired of the tomatoes outgrowing the support/cages. I was growing indeterminates and wanted something big & strong but not overpowering. Now I would love a nice twig/wooden type trellis or arbor, but a quick fix for me was to ask on our local freecycle(fullcircle) group for the metal ornamental support legs from the canvas gazebos that you can buy. I asked if someone had one that the canvas was gone and they didn't have a use for the legs/supports. I immediately got an answer from someone and had my four nice tall 'trellises' home and put to use for my tomatoes within a week. They are black and ornamental so they don't look bad---except now that they have ugly dead tomato plants on them!....no I didn't get the garden cleaned up this year. :(
I would love to make some trellises out of branches. I really love the look of what is posted here, from the twiggy ones to the solid looking white one...they are all so nice. :)
gg

I forgot to mention, that I have planted in containers that aren't too badly broken and just hid the crack or whatever in the back. some of my smaller clay pots end up wedged into the ground under a bush in the garden so they can provide a nice little shelter for the toads that seem to be taking up residence in my yard...YAY!! I love them.
gg

Hmmm...my parents have one of those gazebos. That's a great suggestion.

Gldno1, I haven't heard of that one either. But I'll be sure to add it to my list of plants to check out!

Thanks for the tip.

I say this with tongue in cheek....my verticality in almost all my beds would be a lovely tallish to giant red stalked, shiny green leafed plant that has midnight blue berries in late summers and is perennial to the point of driving me insane...that would be poke weed! I do enjoy eating the young leaves though.

This isn't very good photo, but this is the bean trellis I made in Spring of 2007. It stayed up all winter and I used it this year for beans again, and it's still standing down in the garden today. Because the weight of the bumper crop of beans began to pull it forward, I had to reinforce the end posts with narrow metal fence ones tied to them.

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To the left, you see a big lilac branch that fell off the shrub one year, just stuck upright in the ground. It's not part of the bean trellis. I grew yard-long beans on that branch, it also stayed in the ground all spring and summer until I removed it in the fall (2007).

Porch Supports. We replaced these and they were too good to toss. The four corners are angles and the two on the long sides are flat, just like on the porches. Scuppernong grapes grow on the back and roses on the front. The wood supports on the top rotted and we replaced them this year with steel.

Nell

Hmmm... I'm seeing a lot about rotting wood. I've got a bunch of motorcycle pallets here. They're about 8' x 4'. Mostly Pine, but some oak. I was planning to use those to finish my trellis. Now I'm thinking maybe I need to seal them first.

-Nell, I love those posts! I have been looking for some for my garden. I wanted to set one in the ground and then attach a birdhouse to the top (with those double-ended screws). I wanted to add some 'height' to one area. I know they have them at Lowes and places like that, but I hoped to be able to find an old one I could re-use. I went to this salvage store and they were OUTRAGEOUS in what they wanted to charge me. Gotta' keep looking, I love the look of yours.
CMK

CMK, Try craigslist and freecycle.org. You might find someone with a pair just laying around.

CMK mine are similar to the front ones in Nell's post except mine are black.....they are angled like that though. I got four from our freecycle group. I was thrilled and the lady was thrilled to get them out of her yard.....she didn't have a use for them anymore since the canvas on her gazebo ripped, but she thought they were too good to just throw away.
free is always good. :)
gg

I so many trellises and structures that I grow mostly clematis on that I shudder to think of buying or building more. I have a Photobucket album with nothing but structures that I grow them on linked below but I am sure that there are others that I have not documented yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis supports/trellises

nckvilledudes, I think you can stop with the vertical elements. LOL

There are some in those images that look pretty easy to build. I like to one with the copper pipe and arches across the top. I was thinking of using a 4x4 that I had left from a deck rebuild. I'll probably drill holed through it, insert some pipe, and let something grow up it this summer. I have cardinal climber, sweet autumn clematis, and moonvine. I really like the idea of using it to shield my small backyard from the prying eyes of the old lady who lives behind me. She's forever gossiping with all the neighbors about the comings and goings around here.

Annette, I think that I had put the hyacinth bean in the worng place. Maybe I should try it again. It was very leafy, but no flowers.

Nancy.

Token, you can't have too many vertical elements when you have 130+ clematis and you are still purchasing them and growing them from seed. The 3 copper trellises were purchased from a seller on eBay several years ago before the price of copper went sky high. Would hate to think what they would cost now!

I've never been a fan of clematis, but I understand why someone would. And with that many varieties, I suppose you need all the vertical surface you can get.

I'm about ready to switch out the plumbing here from copper/galvanized to all PVC. It'll make a fantastic trellis. I'll have to keep that in mind too.

Token, most people hear the word clematis and automatically think of the type II large flowering hybrids. I have very few of them in my garden since they tend to brown out in the heat of our summers. There are a wide variety of clematis out there that fall into pruning group III, some of which are US natives, that you can easily grow in our summer heat. A good friend of mine has website that shows the US natives, which are unfortunately little known by most US citizens. The US natives are typically smaller flowering but bell shaped in nature and much more desirable to me than the gaudy and often wilt affected large flowering hybrids.

Here is a link that might be useful: US Viorna Group Clematis Site

Well I never knew. Thanks for that. You're right. I was thinking of the large flowering types. They have always seemed to delicate for me and I've tried growing them twice with no luck.

And wouldn't you know, the one I like the best is the Clematis texensis. It only grows in a few counties in Texas.

Token, it is native to only a few counties in Texas. I grow it and quite a few of the native clematis here in K'ville.

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That is gorgeous.

I have that little native clematis, in Purple! It is a very lively vine! I saw the red one at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, but until then, I had no idea it was actually a clematis.

Hyacinth Beans are eaten in several cultures around the world. The best place to find them on the table would be India, but they usually grow and eat the white flowered variety. I love the purple flowers and the dark shiney maroon beans that are the seed pods and every bit as attractive as the purple flowers.

I have shared these with people all over the world, and I still seem to have more than my share of seeds. If anyone is interested in free seeds, please send me your snail mail address.

Janie

I've got a purple hyacinth bean. I've got seeds for a white one this year from a trade. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

Little dani, if you have something similar to texensis in purple then you more than likely have clematis pitcheri since texensis is always some shade of red or you have texensis cross bred with something else.

I have several pitcheris and here are two shots of it.

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You might also have crispa, addisonii or even socialis, although socialis is difficult to come by.

Addisonii
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Socialis
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Crispa
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I have pitcheri. I have shared it and shared it. It just keeps coming back.

Thanks for the enlightenment. I didn't know there were more than one purple one.

Janie

I love those Clematis - very pretty!!! I of course, am zonally challenged!! lol.

Nancy.

nckvilledude, those are wonderful clematis and great supports. I have mostly the large flowered clematis, but am going to try for some of the viornas - just lovely.

We have broken pots and pieces of them here and there in the garden. I know someone who uses them for plant markers.

I have lots of vines here and there in my yard, including clematis, morning glory, moon flower, honeysuckle, cardinal creeper, etc. I have a variety of trellises, some made from wood by our neighbor who mostly does sculpture out of wood.

Tom, you gave me an idea for a post. I'm going to go around and take pics of the broken pots in our yard and put them on my blog. I'll let you know when they are up.
Sue

Nancy I know someone in Alberta Canada growing crispa. The zone hardiness ratings of most clematis is not known with any certainty. Clematis on the Web is trying to remedy that by having an international survey where they are soliciting information on growth characteristics and zone hardiness of clematis. I highly encourage anyone growing them to participate in the survey, especially people growing them in the lower zones. Link is below for the survey.

Gottagarden, you gotta try the US natives. They are greatly underutilized and tend to attract more attention from the Europeans than those of us living in the US. Another great one is glaucophylla.
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Here is a link that might be useful: International Clematis Survey on COTW