How to make trellis for your garden

Let your climbers come up and play with this rustic DIY rope trellis for all your indoor and outdoor explorer plants. You can create this trellis using up-cycled materials lying around at home, or go totally eco-friendly with organic materials scavenged from the garden.

Enjoy all the benefits of trellis growing and get the most from your curious creepers.

A trellis gives you the edge

The benefits of planting edibles and decorative plants against a supportive trellis:

1. Save space by going vertical and neaten up your garden’s appearance.
2. Are able to home more indoor plants and grow more food in less space with easy harvesting.
3. Grow clean, ‘normal looking’ produce, instead of odd shapes splashed with dirt.
4. Reduce disease and insect damage by improving air circulation around plants and also by keeping foliage off the ground where soil-borne diseases can quickly spread.
5. Make it easier for pollinators to access flowers.
6. Experiment and play with architecture, landscaping, and visually intriguing décor.
7. Grow healthier plants with increased exposure to indoor lighting or outdoor sunlight.
8. Are able to prune and apply fertiliser much easier than if plants were on the ground.
9. Equip your plants with better support to withstand strong winds and rainfall.
10. Cover up baren walls and fences, and create your own indoor living walls.

Inquisitive indoor climbers

Here’s a list of five fabulous indoor creepers and climbers for inspiration.

1. Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum).
2. Pothos (Caution: toxic to cats, dogs, and children if ingested).
3. Wax flowers (Hoya carnosa).
4. Creeping fig (Ficus pumila).
5. Maidenhair vine (Muehlenbeckia complexa).

Edible outdoor explorers

Plant and sow these scrumptious edibles on a trellis and maximise your harvest.

1. Beans.
2. Peas.
3. Tomatoes.
4. Melons.
5. Summer squash.

Available in pots, seedling trays and seed packets from your nursery.

Begin your trellis assembly

You will need:

• At least five sticks from the garden or five store-bought wooden rods.
• Some harvested fresh and pliable vines, or some bought twine.
• A nail and hammer.

*Top tip: If you’re going organic, try collecting an interesting variety of sticks to give your trellis the ultimate rustic and raw look. If sleek is more your style, try painting your wooden rods white and pair them with a natural-coloured twine for an elegant look.

Get busy:

1. Firstly, decide where your trellis will go and think about the size of your space and the plant you would like to grow. You may need more or less rods, depending on how large your desired trellis is going to be.
2. Find a good workspace where you can lay out all your goodies. Begin arranging your rods/ sticks like a ladder, leaving a distance of about five to 10cm between each stick. The gap will depend on the size of your plant and whether it will bear fruit or vegetables.
3. Using the twine or wet vines, tie and secure the ends of both sides of the rods/ sticks to the one above. Continue connecting your pieces to form a ladder or hanging bridge.
4. Secure an additional piece of twine or vine to the final stick or rod, which will go around the nail on the wall. If you’re building a larger trellis, you may need to hang your creation from more than one nail.
5. Plant your new treasure below your trellis and enjoy admiring the new heights your plant will be able to reach.

DID YOU KNOW?

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