To me, all plants and flowers are beautiful. I especially love ones that climb, though – except for, maybe, kudzu. Some climbing plants are weeds, like kudzu, and others are flowers. Still other climbing plants are vegetables – like the pole bean. Many people set up trellises to give the pole bean plant a place to climb. If you plant pole beans each year you can do the same thing. You can make a homemade trellis that looks great but doesn’t involve a lot of calculating, sawing and other work. And, whereas other trellises seem to be featured in the garden yours can be set anywhere!
The pole bean trellis is just perfect for someone who has no garden space or for someone who does. You can build different designs and none of them are hard. Make one type of pole bean trellis by simply starting with some long, small-diameter dowel rods. The wooden rods are sold at craft and home improvement stores and are not expensive.
Draw a large circle on paper or cut out a circular piece of cardboard. Lay it on the ground and use it as a guide for building the trellis. Push one of the dowels into the ground, at any point beside the circle. Move over a few inches and do that again. Continue placing another and another dowel rod, spacing them evenly apart, and going all the way around the circle. It’s up to you how closely you space the dowels; how many dowels you want to use, however, they must be spaced so that you can easily reach your hands between them. Bring the ends of the poles together and wrap a rubber band around them or even tie a string around the rods. You can wrap the top with colored tape or even glue on a large, painted, Styrofoam ball to conceal the ends of the rods and to make a topper.
Create a different type of pole bean trellis by using twine. Take a black plastic (or other color) deli tray – save the clear lid for another craft – and use the tray to plant your pole beans or other climbing plants. First, poke a few holes in the bottom of the tray for drainage. Now, poke holes around the perimeter of the tray, near the top, and spaced evenly apart.
Cut pieces of twine to be all the same length – long. Slide the end of one twine piece through one of the holes then bring the ends together. Do the same thing to all the holes. Now, bring all the ends of the twine together, above the dish, and tie them in a knot. You can use that knot to hang this unique trellis on the deck or elsewhere. This version can even hang indoors.
Whether you’re planting pole beans or flowers a trellis is a nice way to grow them and to show them off to family and friends. Since it’s so easy to make the trellises you can have several of them by the end of the day!
Reference:
- See a similar trellis here: www.ivillage.com/gardening-tools-and-decor/7-b-339005#340201
