Whenever I see a wall covered in vines I think of exotic places, old-world gardens, warm Mediterranean seaside villas…. and I get that warm fuzzy vacation feeling. Wouldn’t it be nice to get that same feeling in your own backyard and gardens?
Growing vines on your home is not recommended because of the damage the root system can do to the structure. English Ivy, though beautiful, is one of the worst!
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So how can we safely get this look?
- Choose a vine that doesn’t damage your wall
- Grow vines on trellises instead of directly on the house
- Grow vines on a garden wall instead of your home
Creeping Fig can damage wood homes but doesn’t particularly hurt sturdy brick and mortar. It can get carried away though, so be prudent about pruning! This is what I have planted on my expansive Brick Wall. As always, you should do diligent research for your growing area and zone to find out what might work for you.
*The following product was given to me in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own honest feelings about this product.*
The Scroll Trellis was designed just for this purpose, to guide vines to grow up structures without any damage. Specifically, the size was designed for attaching to poles or gutters, but it can be used on a wall or anywhere else you can think of.
INSTALLATION:
My first idea was to try to recreate the European look of a vine covered building. So I decided to put one of the Scroll Trellises on my Garden Shed. I decided that I wanted to try growing a vine up the end of the shed and around the window to mimic that picture above of the ivy covered home.
Installation of the Scroll Trellis on the garden shed was really easy. Everything needed was in the package and all I needed was my drill screwdriver. All the holes were pre-drilled and I had it installed in about ten minutes. I chose to run it up the back left corner of the shed to the top. The second piece was run across the top of the side wall of the shed above the window. Then a third piece was cut and fitted around the sides and bottom of the window.
As you can see, the Scroll Trellis is fairly inconspicuous and would never even be noticed from my deck or anywhere but right up at the garden shed.
PLANTING:
My biggest dilemma was deciding what vine to plant! Sweet Peas were my first choice, but I wasn’t sure they would grow tall enough for the look I wanted. Clematis was another option, but ultimately I decided to try a pink Mandevilla. I have never grown one myself but they are pretty popular in the area. Since I had actually bought two Mandevillas plants, I planted one at the back left corner of the shed right at the trellis and the second one I planted in a small wire “window box” under the window trellis.
I can see it in my mind…
However, we will have to wait for Mother Nature and a few weeks of growth time to get pictures. Be sure to check back here for updates in a month or two.
If you like the looks of our tiny shed, you might be surprised to find out just how U G L Y it was in a former life and how we transformed it into this Cute Garden Shed for practically free!
Also, you may have noticed that earlier I said this was “my first idea,” my second idea will be a fun future post so come back for that update too!
**SPOILER ALERT**
Do you need ideas for recycling clothesline poles?
For more detailed information on damaging walls with vines, read this article, Are Climbing Plants Really Bad for Your House?, by Architectural Digest.
Cute! And I’m jealous! We can’t grow mandevillas here except in pots. I’ve tried to overwinter them inside in a pot and they always succumb to aphids or just general, I don’t know, winterness I guess, before the next spring. I can’t wait to see how this looks once the mandevilla starts growing!
They won’t over winter here either. And this is an experiment for me… I’ve never actually grown them before. 🙂
Hi Nikki, thank you for experimenting with and writing about our flagship trellis! We have grown Mandevilla here but only as an annual. We’re in Minnesota. It’s such an awesome choice because it grows fast, is easy to care for and blooms all summer. I think you’ll love it! We have overwintered it a couple of times by cutting back the vines and cutting way back on watering. Looking forward to seeing your trellis fill in!
Hhi Diane! I am having so much fun with these trellises! I keep thinking of new places to try them. When you overwintered the mandevilla, were they in pots or in the ground?
Nice article and I love the little shed.. We have a vine that grows crazy, very hardy, comes back every year with more and blooms all summer .. Unfortunately it was here when we came and for some reason planted along the fence so it really has no (UP) place to go.. I keep saying I am going to try to start some cuttings..
I wonder what your vine is Linda? I’d love to see a picture. Sounds beautiful.
Scroll trellis! I’ve never heard of this, but love the idea – all kinds of cool options. Wild ivy grows over the rocks here, and now I’m wondering about trying to get it to grow up our fenceline and gateposts…..food for thought – thank you!
Sounds like an interesting idea Sarita! I do love rocks… 🙂
Awwwwww Nikki I’m so jealous of your creeping fig, I know them as ticky creepers. We’ve tried to grow it on one of our yucky concrete walls so many times and it gets to a certain height and then just dies. Love your idea of putting a scroll trellis on the garden shed. Once the Mandevilla takes off it’s going to look amazing
hahahaha ticky creepers…. I love that! I’ve read something recently that said it needs some afternoon shade in hot climates…. is your wall in full sun? Thanks for visiting Michelle. 🙂
When we overwintered our Mandevilla it was in a pot (forgot to mention that!) So we kept the pot in our basement in front of a window. Sometimes the Mandevilla will start to vine at first I thought that would be a good thing and that it would give the Mandevilla a head-start. But actually one I moved it outside it didn’t seem like a benefit, it just grew really slowly and kind of looked stringy. So I cut off the over-winter vines and the Mandevilla started to grow again.