10 Elegant Trellis Ideas That Elevate Your Garden Design While Supporting Plants – They're as Pretty as They are Practical

There are so many reasons to add a trellis to your garden besides giving a climbing plant a support to scramble up. Think outside the box and you can use one to add privacy, zone your garden into different outdoor rooms or increase your growing space.

Adding a trellis to your backyard is also a fast, affordable way to upgrade the look, introducing a standalone design detail that deserves to be admired in its own right. As trellis is available in such a range of different shapes, sizes, and materials, it's easy to find the perfect match, whatever your garden style.

Whether you opt for a classic wooden trellis, a sleek modern metal design, or prefer to find ways of using recycled materials, trellis is one of the best ways to support a climbing vine while at the same time enhancing your garden landscape. Find fresh inspiration with these innovative trellis ideas, and refresh your outdoor space this weekend.

1. Divide Your Garden into Zones

Whether you have a large backyard with a big lawn or you're trying to stretch a small space to get the max out of it, garden zoning with trellis will help define your plot into different areas. It won't carve up a garden as fencing does, because it's so airy.

You can use the see-through nature of trellis to your advantage in another way, too, by pairing it with a deciduous vine. That way, you gain most privacy in summer when you use your garden most often, as the climber is in full leaf but, during winter's shorter days, it'll let plenty of precious sunlight through.

2. Bring Bridgerton Vibes

If you're all aboard the current trend for all things Bridgerton, then pairing a climbing rose with a white trellis is the perfect addition to bring a romantic vibe to your garden. Choose a fragrant variety like this repeat blooming 'New Dawn' cultivar from Nature Hills that's a swoon-worthy shell-pink tone, and you'll add a sweet but fresh apple-like scent, too.

A trellised arch takes this idea a step further, adding a stunning vertical accent and a canopy of blooms to walk under.

3. Raise Your Fence for More Privacy

Adding a trellis topper to an existing fence or wall raises its height without blocking out all the sunlight, enhancing privacy while accommodating plants that benefit from extra room such as wisteria. There are plenty of designs to choose from that accommodate climbing vines, from traditional lattice panels such as this Pressure Treated Spruce Lattice from Lowes to airy aluminum balusters like this Fence Topper Kit, also from Lowes.

This is a useful addition to screen an overlooked balcony, terrace or small garden.

4. Create a Contemporary Look

The standard way to add a trellis to your garden is to fix it to a wall or fence for climbing plants to scramble up. Many conventional trellises are designed to blend in and be as discreet as possible, but by combining a standout dark-toned trellis with a contrasting light-colored wall, you add a sleek design note. It's an easy way to bring the current trend for Japanese-inspired styles into your garden, and it works well with modern design elements such as symmetrical planting.

Choose vine-type climbers such as honeysuckle and star jasmine which will weave through the trellis to create a real feature. Black shows off green leaves beautifully, so this is a superb way to highlight vines with pretty foliage such as as clematis.

Easy-Add Statement Black Trellis

5. Make a Vertical Veggie Plot

Think your garden isn't big enough to grow veggies? Think again! "My residential rooftop is a high-density container garden where verticality isn't just a design choice, it's a requirement for scale," says JD Miller, creator of The Chicago Bell Garden, pictured above. "We use trellises made of heavy-duty steel beams anchored in large containers to maximize production within our compact urban footprint."

These trellises support three growing cycles throughout the year for a healthy harvest of vegetables. This vertical succession planting starts with snow peas in the spring, transitions to cucumber vines as the heat rises, and finishes the year with pole beans. Sweet potatoes planted in the containers below weave their vines through the structure all year long, creating a living wall that produces a super-high yield per square foot.

6. Grow Fruit on a Trellised Wall

Trellis is a great way to grow fruit in a compact space, too. If you like the idea of growing fruit in espalier, cordon or fan shapes, one of the neatest ways to offer plant support for them is to fix trellis to a wall to create a framework for growth. Once you have the support and structure in place, it's a simple process of attaching and guiding the fruit tree to the support.

There's an advantage for the plant too, as a south- or west-facing wall will capture and retain the heat of the sun, creating a warmer microclimate that'll help grow stoned fruit such as peaches and apricots.

There is also a trellis technique known as Belgian lattice, where a series of shaped espaliers are planted two feet apart so their branches cross to create a diamond-like grid pattern. This is a great way to grow fruit ornamentally that will add an attractive design feature to your landscaping.

7. Screen an Ugly View

If your shed has seen better days, or you have to store your garbage cans in your front yard, using trellis to create an attractive screen is an affordable way to turn an unsightly view into an attractive design feature. Fixing airy lattice-style trellises between fenceposts allows light to pass through, so your garden won't feel any smaller.

Add a fast-growing vine and you'll quickly achieve the coverage you're looking for. A native honeysuckle cultivar such as the beautifully fragrant 'Coral Honeysuckle' available from Amazon, with orange-pink flowers produced prolifically year after year, is a great choice.

8. Cosy-Up a Seating Area

Backing a seating area with a trellis will make it feel more intimate. A single panel is perfect for creating a quiet spot to sit and enjoy your morning coffee or a glass of wine in the evening, while three will define a dining space. Think about positioning and you can use the screen to create dappled shade for a more comfortable experience.

9. Stay Flexible With a Wheeled Planter

A moveable planter on wheels with a built-in trellis offers a fast way to make a patio feel more private if your garden is overlooked. It's versatile too, as you can move the planter around to create areas of sun or shade exactly where you want, and shift it against a wall on windy days.

Choose ornamental styles of trellis with laser-cut patterns in metal or wood to add a unique design element as well as seclusion. This sturdy black galvanised metal planter box on wheels from Amazon is easy to move around. A fast-growing climber such as a Robusta Boston ivy from Nature Hills will quickly form a dense covering of foliage, and keeping it in a container will control its fast-growing, vigorous nature.

10. Reclaim Materials for Vintage Charm

Cottagecore style continues to be a strong trend, and we don't think it will ever go out of fashion! An easy way to bring vintage charm to your garden is to use reclaimed materials as a trellis. Head to your nearest reclamation yard for inspiration. Metal bed frames make beautiful supports, as do old railings. Match your choice of plant to the style of the trellis for best results.

Decorative Plant Supports

That's a wrap on our take on the latest trellis ideas. There are more types of plant supports available too including stakes, cages, and hoops, and some of the latest on-trend ideas offer a design spin on these as well.