Build a simple pergola for your vines to climb

Give an annual vine something to climb and it will shoot up almost before your eyes, accepting the guidance of a support.

You needn’t invest in pricey wood and concrete to make a structure for climbing vines. You can construct one that is neither complicated nor permanent. Even something as basic as a large pot with a bamboo tripod can support the scramble of a morning glory or climbing nasturtium. Or you can stake bamboo poles in a garden bed and lash them together with twigs at the top to make bigger tepees, offering extra impact from a distance.

Annual vines can be grown on these purpose-built structures or among shrubs, up stair railings or anywhere a splash of vertical color could be of use.

Your garden’s style and the mood you aim to set will influence your choice of vines and the materials for their support. Perhaps your vines are only pinch-hitting while perennials fill in, or maybe they’re framing a view from a fair-weather porch.

In early spring, after the danger of frost has passed, choose a sunny, cultivated garden spot with good soil. Construct one of the frames described below, and plant the vines. This time next year, the entire structure will be all but swallowed by lavish foliage and blooms.

Pergola how-to

To construct a pergola, you’ll need eight half whiskey barrels (which you can purchase at many nurseries and home stores).

1. Make two rows of four barrels 5 feet apart, with 2 feet between the barrels in each row. Fill each with commercial potting mix.

2. In each barrel, push two 6- to 8-foot-long bamboo poles into the soil 6 inches apart; wire together at the top to form a V-shaped tip.

3. Making sure that the V of each pot lines up with a mate in the opposing row, connect facing pots by wiring an 8-foot bamboo pole between each pair as a “crossbeam.”

4. Then lay three 6- to 8-foot-long poles over the crossbeams (one over each lengthwise row of barrels and one in the middle), overlapping the ends. You’ll have created a ladderlike formation on top of the poles, giving the vines different directions to climb.

5. Lash the intersection of any two poles with wire.

6. Plant a morning glory seedling next to each pole. Use twine to tie up vines’ early growth, and point them where you want them to head.

If you start the operation in spring, your living, flowering arbor will be complete by midsummer.

Bamboo structure how-to

This teepee structure doesn’t cost much, can be placed anywhere in the garden and can be moved even after it’s built.

1. Arrange six upright, sturdy 6- to 8-foot-long bamboo poles, 6 to 8 inches apart, in a circle, pushing their ends about 6 inches into the ground.

2. Join the tops with medium-gauge galvanized wire to stabilize the structure. Twist the wire several times, leaving an excess of about 6 inches on each end. Conceal the wire by wrapping it with a bundle of young, supple birch twigs; secure twigs with the ends of the wire. Trim excess wire and twig.

3. About 18 inches from the ground, weave sturdier birch twigs (pencil thick and at least 21/2 feet long) through the stakes to connect them and to give the vines an extra foothold. Start with the thickest twig ends, bracing each against the inside of a pole and weaving the rest in and out around the structure. Stagger each twig, starting one pole to the left of the previous.

4. Move up about 18 inches; repeat the process to create a second “wreath.” Trim loose ends of twigs to neaten the construction.

5. Plant a young vine at the base of every other pole to ensure ample space. Water the seedlings.

Fast-climbing vines

Look for these versatile annual vines at your local nursery. They’re all quick to grow, even from seed.

Basella alba ‘rubra’: Known as Malabar spinach, this plant has small, red-flushed flowers and berries, and edible leaves.

Cissus discolor: A native of Southeast Asia with rosy stems, variegated leaves and red-tinted green flowers.

Cobaea scandens: This cup-and-saucer vine features fragrant cuplike flowers, which open creamy green and age to purple.

Lablab purpureus: The purple hyacinth bean has decorative purple pods and tends to shoot up fast.

Thunbergia alata: A perennial in mild U.S. regions, the black-eyed Susan vine can be a free-flowering summer annual.

Ipomoea quamoclit: This vine has a twining habit, finely cut leaves and white or red blooms – pleasing even from afar.

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