Saturday, September 05, 2009

TRELLIS OF MY DREAMS REALIZED

hubs finally built the trellis of my dreams! miss m was right, a gazing ball was the way to go...here's another detail of the trellis, taken from the deck with the zoom... look ma, no nail holes!
the trellis cost about $200 in materials: 1.5" x1.5"cedar, $150, 0.5" copper pipe, $25, gazing ball, $25 and maybe a little more for the silicone rtv adhesive we used to attach the ball. let's see if the ball stays attached... we did rough it up a bit with sandpaper before glueing.
next spring i'll prune the dwarf spruces to better match the angle of the trellis... does anyone have any ideas of what to grow up it? i'm thinking of an orange peel clematis... your ideas?
meanwhile, the goldfinches are feasting on the sunflowers, but too shy for a close up. sorry this pictures just do not meet up to kerri's.
male on lower left, female on upper right...
female adjusting her position...

and, i harvested the 'shining light' watermelon... which was disappointing (not sweet at all.) i'm going to wait to harvest the others.

11 comments:

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

You have a lovely trellis, and I like the layout of your garden.

Kerri said...

Your hubs did a great job with the trellis. It's gorgeous, and the gazing ball is a good idea. I love that first photo :)
I'm curious to see an orange peel clematis. Hyacinth Bean vine is another possibility. It's not perennial in our zones though.
Thanks for the link and compliment on my photos, but I think yours are terrific. It's hard to get them to pose :)
Too bad the watermelon wasn't sweet. I'm impressed you actually got some. We've never had any luck with them. Our season is too short.

miss m said...

So you decided against the pumpkin ? lol.
The obelisk looks great ! Fist-bump hubby for me. I like the fact you’ve used different materials. The copper will age nicely.
I hope Orange Peel is an improvement on Golden Harvest. My Golden Harvest (tangutica) was vigorous (very!) and laden with blooms, but I found them too tiny to appreciate. Overall it looked green. Great display of spent heads, though !
I'd go with Kerri. Hyacinth Bean vines are sooo pretty. (Although mine did poorly this summer).
Sorry about the watermelon. :(

Sophie Munns said...

Love it Em!
How exciting...the new Obelisk as Miss M called it is a wonderful edition to your lovely garden. I'm sorry my gardening sjills do not run to suggesting anything for your new trellis... love all the birds in the garden!
S x

Cat with a Garden said...

The trellis turned out wonderful. Great work!

Connie said...

The trellis is perfect! Very nice, my compliments to the builder.
I like to grow pole beans and morning glory together...both practical and beautiful!

Anonymous said...

How about a climbing rose on the trellis?

Sis

em said...

keewee, thanks! we worked really hard on it!

kerri, gazing ball was Miss M's idea. it was so inexpensive compared to the alternatives! i have grown hyacinth beans before, and they are an annual here as well. i may do an annual until i decide what i really want... but i think i want orange... i'll grow pumpkins rather than watermelon next year! i've learned my lesson! Thanks for the comments!

Miss M, thanks, i'm interested to see when the wood is silver and the copper is green how it looks... that's why i'm thinking an orange or yellow vine. there are plenty of annual vines that are really bright... hmm... thanks for the comment...

sophie, thanks! i always appreciate your visits!

cat, thanks for the comment!

connie, thanks, yes, hubs is both clever and handy... and he's a great cook! i grow pole beans and morning glories on the back fence of the potager, what a lovely combo! i'm thinking of something less dense for the obelisk, so as not to hide it completely.

sis, that's a great idea! i'll have to find one that stays pretty small... hm... maybe i'll do the annual next year while i scope out roses...

miss m said...

Ah, good old rose, you can’t go wrong with that.
Thinking outside the 'annual' box, I'm a sucker for honeysuckle but it may be too common for you. Kiwi vine has great variegated foliage but maybe too dense (in re to your comment to Connie). Back to annuals, there’s always good old sweet pea, although I did stumble upon the perennial variety in a nearby field this summer. I’m trying it out in the garden next year.

No matter how you slice it, you can't go wrong. Anything would look pretty on such a lovely structure. :)

dinzie said...

The garden and the trellis look great :O)

D

em said...

miss m, the challenge is that i want something that won't completely hid the trellis... that's why i was heading toward clematis... i guess i'll just be pruning alot... not sure i'd want all the bees a honeysuckle will bring! there are some pretty ones out there, though!

dinzie, nice to hear from you, thanks for visiting!