Vertical gardening goes above and beyond the soil

NOT ALL GARDENING’S grounded. Why not try

taking it to another level? Use structure to grow plants on fences, walls, trellises and stakes.

Think vertical, join this space-saving trend and start gardening "up." A quick tour of the Norfolk Botanical Garden reveals all kinds of options and supports that make vertical impact.

Brian D. O’Neil, director of horticulture at the garden, began with the outside of Baker Hall, the garden's visitors center. Let's join him for a look at upward thinking:

The trellis

"This gray wall is a really good neutral background," O’Neil said of a simple wooden lath trellis arranged in large squares and painted gray. On this one, a variegated kiwi vine sprouts new leaves that start out pink. "When choosing what kind of a support to use, you should consider: Does it adorn the wall? And does it do something design-wise for the wall?"

Often, O’Neil said, a bare wall begs for adornment. When planning a trellis, consider the architecture of the house. For example, a wrought iron decorative trellis might look better on a Georgian Colonial home, whereas a rustic pole trellis would be better placed on a log cabin.

"If the structure can echo an architectural feature from the house, such as an arch over a window, perhaps a trellis with an arched top would fit right in," O’Neil said.

He pointed out that gardeners can overdo it when choosing vertical supports, falling for something that looks fabulous when it's new, but invisible once it's grown over by the vine.

To keep an ornate trellis design in view, select a less rambunctious vine with smaller textured leaves, O’Neil said.

Not into vines? Trellises are a great place to display colorful annuals in pots, planters or baskets with flat backs.

The arbor

O’Neil headed for the Rose Garden, where sturdy structures of treated or long-lasting woods announce entrances or places to pause.

The first, at the parking lot entrance, supports an early-blooming Lady Banks rose and, to extend interest into the season, red and white blooming ‘Fourth of July’ climbers, which twine up the arbor's legs.

An arbor in the Rose Garden's center is covered with a scarlet Blaze climbing rose. An outdoor "room" like this would be practical in a sunny garden if planted with an evergreen vine that provides shade all year. It's another great place to dangle hanging pots of annuals.

A third, specially built structure combines wooden posts with metal pipes, placed on the horizontal. Two stretches of this trellis form a short avenue at the rear of the Rose Garden. It is planted with a pale pink Handel climber but could be used for any type of vigorous vine and built, like here, as a passageway or to screen off an unwanted view. Copper caps on the posts are both attractive and practical; they protect the post tops from moisture damage.

On the street side of the garden's cafe, an arbor-covered walkway is planted with myriad vines: Confederate Jasmine, evergreen wisteria, Stephan's Jasmine, trumpet vine, variegated trumpet vine, native wisteria and cross-vine, another native.

"Choose your vines carefully," O’Neil cautioned. The trumpet vine planted here can be "somewhat rambunctious," he said, pointing out that its suckers have to be dug out to keep the vine from taking over. Chinese wisteria also can become a problem; its seeds germinate and pop up everywhere.

Kentucky wisteria, planted in an arbor along the cafe's terrace, is a better option, he said.

The tuteur

Four metal tuteurs in the Rose Garden let White Dawn climbing roses create vertical interest in an otherwise flat area surrounded by beds of roses.

The Colonial Garden features wooden tuteurs built and painted white by garden volunteers. Even when bare, they are beautiful and architecturally interesting. Balsam pear will engulf one of them by summer. Another will support red trumpet honeysuckle Major Wheeler.

A simple teepee-shaped tuteur, made of poles of bamboo or other wood, is quick to put up and can be used for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. In a border garden, tripods of wood poles like this can showcase clematis. In a vegetable garden, they keep beans off the ground and in picking reach.

One tuteur, made by Border Concepts, is pricey at $99 for the largest size, but both practical and pretty. At McDonald Garden Center in Virginia Beach, the tallest mini-chainlink-covered- beehive shape in this line is perfect for plants with tiny tendrils.

The wall

A gardener lucky enough to have a wall has instant charm. Top a freestanding wall with a potted plant or two for a visual surprise.

At the rear of the Rose Garden, the stone walls of a storage building do double duty and support climbing roses. Galvanized wires were strung and fastened into the mortar.

The choice between using wire or fishing line requires thought.

"If the main point is to provide support for a vining plant or espalier," O’Neil said, "heavy-test nylon fishing line may be sufficient. It disappears from view. It's strong and lasts a long time. Galvanized wire versus ungalvanized would be preferred to prevent rust."

Ivy will attach itself to a wall without any help.

"There's a big fear, especially in the South, of vines climbing on brick," O’Neil said. "But if the brick and mortar are in good shape, it shouldn't be an issue."

The exception is English ivy, a vigorous grower that, in adult form, reseeds itself and creates a problem. Try less aggressive vines instead, such as climbing hydrangea on a north-facing wall.

A stone wall in the Baker Perennial Garden displays sweet autumn clematis, frothy with white flowers and clean, heart-shaped foliage.

Walls are also a great place to attach plant pockets. At McDonald Garden Center, the Woolly Pocket, which is made from recycled plastic that feels strangely soft like felt and is lined in vinyl to hold water, comes in various widths up to 5 feet long. It can hold all kinds of plants. The pockets start at about $40 for the smallest, about 24 inches long. Check them out at www.woollypocket.com.

Another one, the Living Wall Planter, is for smaller plants, with one planted in each cell. That runs $45 or so and holds about 10 plants.

The fence

Fences are natural places to plant vines. Coral honeysuckle twines over the split-rail fence around the Wildflower Meadow at Norfolk Botanical Garden. The orange blossoms of this native vine attract hummingbirds and are a beautiful color-contrast to the brilliant flowers in the field.

Another style of fence, a white picket in the Colonial Garden, supports cypress vine, sweet pea, Canary Climber, morning glory and scarlet runner beans. When using fencing, O’Neil said, maintain and paint it in the offseason, when annual vines are done, or other vines can be cut back.

The found object

Think out of the box for this one. Structures to hold up vines or other plants don't have to be designed for that purpose. Here's a handful of quick ideas:

-Old iron gates at antiques shops make good trellises.

-Set an old chair in a flower bed – wood, wicker, metal – and rest a pot full of flowers on the seat. Have an artist's eye? Go one step further and paint the chair to either match or contrast with the color of the blooms.

-Put up a birdhouse and train clematis vine on the pole that holds it.

-Prop an old wooden stepladder in the vegetable garden. Use it to support cucumber vines or pole beans or let its steps hold pots of herbs.

-Line wicker baskets with plastic, punch holes in the bottom for drainage, fill with potting soil and flowers and hang them from fences, walls or the garden gate.

The pot

Atlantic Garden Center in Virginia Beach carries triangular-shaped pots that stack and are called, naturally, The Vertical Garden. Four together allow a gardener to grow 12 different herbs, strawberry plants or a dozen flowering plants of the same kind for a big, colorful display.

With the hanging kit, it can be hung as a plant basket. It's $24.99. See it at www.theverticalgarden.com.

Large clay bowls or pots of ascending size can also be used to create a pyramid shape.

At McDonald Garden Center, bowls 10 to 24 inches in diameter can be stacked. Start with the largest on the bottom, fill with potting soil and work up, stacking pots until the smallest is at the top. Plant each pot around the edges and create a living pyramid for herbs, or flowering annuals such as impatiens. Pots run from $12 to $50.

The tree

Sometimes, the simplest things will do. In the Baker Perennial Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden, Confederate Jasmine clings to a pine tree helped by nylon fishing line.

Sturdy, low tree branches are also the perfect place for a hanging pot full of blooms to draw the eye up.

Krys Stefansky, (757) 446-2043, [email protected]

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