20 DIY Arbor and Trellis Ideas for your Garden (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a trellis and an arbor? ›

A trellis provides support for plants and acts as a beautiful accent to an otherwise empty wall or as an addition to a pergola to create a living wall on one or more sides. An arbor is used to define a walkway or path in the garden and provide a stunning gateway when entering into a beautiful, relaxing space.

Building and making a garden trellis is not only cheaper than buying it ready-made, but also ensures you can get it the right shape, size, and thickness to match what you're growing.

Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) are amazingly easy to grow, making them a winner for beginner gardeners.

How High Should an Arbor Be? Ultimately, the answer to this depends on your style preference and use. The main factor to keep in mind is making sure your outdoor arbor is tall enough for people to walk through. It's best to usually make sure the arbor is at a minimum of at least 6 feet tall.

Arbors need to be anchored well to prevent falling during wind and weather by securing their posts to something sturdy or using concrete footings. They're at least 7 feet tall, although you can go up to 10 feet or more.

Raise the arbor into place

For the support posts, dig two holes 36 inches deep and 48 inches apart on center. In other words, the distance from the center of one hole to the center of the other should be 4 feet.

UNLIKE ARCHES which have longer legs, arbours are designed to be freestanding. You can secure them to hard surfaces with brackets as per wooden arches, or in soft ground you will need to screw a timber stake (about 30cm tall) to each leg, and then sink the whole stake into the ground.

DIY Rustic Arbor

Use old fence posts, lattice panels, or any scrap wood to fashion your own design. Before getting started, check that all the materials are in good condition and free from wood rot or damage.

An old wooden or metal ladder can be repurposed into a charming, rustic plant support. This approach is not only eco-friendly but also cost-effective, utilising something that might otherwise have been discarded.

We recommend a trellis that's tall enough to accommodate growing vines, but not so tall that you'd have to stretch to pick. Our trellises measure 6 feet tall, but anywhere from 4 to 6 feet will work for growing most vining plants vertically. If your vines begin to grow out of hand, pinch off the top tip of the vine.

What vine grows super fast? ›

Try ivy, hops, clematis, honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, jasmine or trumpet vines. You can grow grapes, gourds or vining vegetables like cucumbers on structures that provide good support.

Wherever you install your trellises, make sure you leave room for the plants themselves. I like to leave about 6 inches of space in the raised bed on the inside of the trellis to plant. You could definitely plant in the wood box on the outside of the trellis too.

Arbor: A recessed or somewhat enclosed area shaded by trees or shrubs that serves as a resting place in a wooded area. In a more formal garden, an arbor is a small structure with vines trained over latticework on a frame, providing a shady place.

Design and pattern: Lattices have a crisscross pattern, often forming diamonds or squares, whereas trellises usually have a more rigid, grid-like structure. Functionality: Lattices tend to be used more for decorative purposes and privacy screening, while trellises are primarily intended for supporting plants.

An arbor is an outdoor structure in a landscape or yard that provides shelter from the elements and privacy. It can also serve as an accent, separating different garden areas an directing traffic. Arbors rest on either two or four posts topped with a simple slatted roof that is often arched.

These two meanings come from two different roots: the wooden arch type of arbor comes from the Latin herba, "grass or herb," while the tree arbor comes directly from the Latin arbor. Simply enough, it means "tree."