6 important tips for transforming your garden with trellises

When vines and other flexible plants are trained to grow on trellises and arbours, they gain a great deal in stature and add to the subtle complexity of your garden.

• A light trellis or lattice can provide a framework for climbing plants and reduce the effects of wind.
• Try transforming a blank wall into a vertical garden with a trellis covered by climbers.

You can select traditional latticework panels, a fan shape or a sculptural trellis, or you can just use your own imagination to make an original, one-of-a-kind plant support.

• Redwood, cypress and cedar trellises are rot resistant, will age to gray and don't require painting.
• Iron and steel trellises that have a rustproof finish are good for heavy plants.
• For low maintenance, try plastic, fibreglass or enamelled aluminum trellises in white, green or brown.
• In the vegetable garden, use a net or wire trellis to support pole beans and other climbers.

An expandable plastic trellis with riveted joints can be contracted or stretched, like an accordion, to fit any space. If you have an old baby gate in the attic, get it out and use it as a trellis.

A freestanding trellis can be erected anywhere as long as it's attached to sturdy legs that extend 30 to 45 centimetres (1 to 1 1/2 feet) into the ground.

• At home supply stores, plastic lattice panels are available with matching grooved molding that makes them easy to frame and attach to posts.

Use bamboo poles as a lightweight but sturdy trellis; this looks especially nice in a Japanese-style garden.

• Secure the poles by crisscrossing waterproof nylon cord over the joints.

• Attach 2.5 x 5-centimetre (one x two-inch) pine furring strips vertically to a wall before hanging a trellis, which creates a gap between the trellis and the wall.
• This will give stems some room to grow behind the trellis, let water evaporate from the wall and increase air circulation around the plants.
• Attach a trellis to mounting boards with hooks and eyes instead of screws so that if you need to paint or repair the wall, you can easily lift it off.

Make sure your trellis meets the needs of the plants you want to grow.

• Clinging vines, such as ivy and trumpet vine, don't need a trellis—their stems can adhere to any surface.
• "Grabbers" such as clematis have tendrils that need to coil around thin supports.
• Twining vines like to encircle round poles, and roses need to be tethered to their trellis with strips of soft cloth.