Building a Garden Arbor and Trellis System: A Quick Look at the Completed Trellis Component

Welcome back readers and subscribers.  It’s time for another RGG self-congratulatory moment.  I just finished building and installing the vertical trellis component of my garden arbor/trellis system, and in my humble opinion, it looks pretty good.  I’m nearly done with the whole structure – I just need  to cut and install the horizontal rafters and crossmembers which will fasten to the top of the six big outriggers (which are already built and in place).  I’m glad this baby’s almost done!

I started writing this article on the evening of Halloween, and this fact begs the insertion of one completely unrelated item into our discussion.  My mom, Bessie Stamos, was born 91 years ago on Halloween.  She likes to tell the story of how her mother informed her, on the occasion of one of her birthdays when she was just a little kid, that a witch on a broomstick delivered her, as a newborn, to her folks’ home on the night of Halloween, in the year 1930.  She, in turn, entertained all of her childhood friends with this tale.  My mom remembers it as if it were yesterday.  She loved to tell it to my sister and me when we were just little kids.  She loved to tell that story to her grandkids when they were just little kids.  She still loves to tell that story.  And my sister and I, and the rest of the family, never get tired of hearing about how that witch, riding on that broomstick all those years ago, dropped my mom off and out into the world.  It’d be great to keep listening to her tell that story for a whole bunch more years.  Happy Birthday, Mom!

Back to the arbor…  

In the coming weeks, I’m going to write a series of short articles here on The Renaissance Garden Guy which will really amount to being a step-by-step, how-to manual for anyone interested in building this type of garden structure.  In these upcoming articles, you’ll learn how to build a structure like mine from start to finish.  You’ll also learn some cool construction terms, like “dead man”, “jig”, and “stand-off”.  But all of that is still down the road.  For right now, I just want to give you an idea of what the finished product is shaping up to look like, and let you in on what I’m planning on growing on this thing.*

So today, just plan on looking at some pictures of the finished vertical trellis component of my arbor, with a few comments thrown in from yours truly.  I’m also including a few pics from earlier on in the project – just to give you a basic idea of what’s involved in designing and building something like this.  I’ve even got pictures of the climbers I’ve picked out to grow on my structure.  (I planted the first one today, Halloween, as soon as I finished installing the last of the trim boards).

I designed and built the vertical trellis component of this structure to span approximately two thirds of the length of the house.  A good portion of it extends northward, out beyond the big outriggers at the top of the structure.  This part, which has no corresponding overhead horizontal structure, is designed to allow vine growth on a vertical plane only.  It’s also located in almost full sun.  So what grows there will be a sun lover.  The main part of the vertical trellis, however, is counterpart to the substantial horizontal overhead structure (which consists of the big 2 x 10 outriggers – which you’ll be able to see in some of these pictures – and the soon-to-be built/installed rafters and crossmembers).  This part of the system is in mostly shade (and will be in even more shade under the vine canopy which will ultimately be climbing and sprawling out over the structure’s overhead horizontal component).  The vines planned for this section are definitely shade lovers.

The vertical trellis incorporates a combination of square-butted stile and rail trim pieces, and miter-joint trim pieces to cover underlying structural framing members and to provide a framed/finished look around doors, electrical/plumbing/gas supply components, outrigger/ledger board tie-ins, and floating end sections.  The entire vertical lattice structure provides substantial clearance from the actual outside structure of the house.  This space allows for unrestricted vertical vine growth.  The base points of the underlying structural framing are anchored in the ground in concrete.  It’s extremely solidly built, and effectively permanent (although it can be removed, if absolutely necessary). 

My design intent was the creation of a definite architectural presence in the garden.  And since this architectural presence happens to be a garden arbor/trellis structure, it’s going to be covered by twining and spreading vines and flowers.  The visual impact of the works of man yielding to the irresistable push of nature has always been very powerful for me.  And since these works of man are going to be absolutely engulfed by nature, I think the look is gonna be a knockout. 

The following pictures and captions should give you a pretty good idea of what this completed component of my garden arbor/trellis structure is all about.

(*If you want to cheat and catch all of the articles I wrote about building this structure, you’re in luck.  I’ll give you all of the links right here, right now: To see the completed structure in its entirety and for some design and planning suggestions, click here.  To learn how to properly set structural posts for a structure like this one, click here.  The ledger board element is another critical one; click here to learn how to install one.  Finally, to learn my methodology for building and installing girders for an arbor like mine, click here.)