Garden Trellis Designs

A Climbing Success

Few outdoor items evoke romance more than the garden trellis. The romantic angle attributed to the trellis usually involves a head-over-heels suitor climbing the trellis to reach his unreachable lover. This use of the trellis, as a ladder, is not the garden trellis' first duty and is not advised despite what most wooing Romeos might suggest.

A garden trellis is a latticed structure used to support plants, either by tying the plants to the trellis or by allowing climbing plants to bind themselves to the structure. A trellis can be made of horizontal, vertical or diagonal bars, usually spaced and arranged to form a decorative structure. The materials can be wood (either hardwood or treated softwood), metal (either wrought iron or galvanized iron), or plastic.

The Timeless Trellis

We need to thank the ancient Romans for the idea behind the trellis and the word itself. The word trellis is derived from the Latin word trilix, meaning "having three threads intertwined." The word semantically correlates to its practicality, painting a picture in the mind of the intended design.

The Romans used the trellis in the same manner as it is used today and celebrated it in wall art, poems, and treatises on gardening. This devotion to the trellis in art and gardening carried on through the centuries with numerous depictions found in tapestries and poetry from medieval times to the present.

Versatility by Design

A trellis can be used indoors, outdoors, or in a planting pot. Crossing trellis rails offers more opportunity for fixing plants than a set of horizontal or vertical trellis rails. Wire trellis should be galvanized or wrought iron in order to prevent rusting. A softwood trellis should be treated with preservative. A good quality trellis can be made with oak slats and brass screws.

Most garden trellises are light weight and require little or no maintenance. For the most part, they tend to serve as forms of demarcation allowing the garden to expand upward and separate different flowering focal points. The addition of garden trellis to the yard will highlight the beauty of the various plants and ensure a sense of solitude and serenity.