DIY Vertical Garden: Turn A Shower Caddy Into A Vertical Garden

Trellis: A trellis is a flat structure made of interwoven wood or metal pieces, for the purpose of growing climbers like ivy, climbing roses, grapevines or clematis. Using trellises at the back of the garden or against a fence or wall gives a lovely green backdrop to every plant in front of it. You can purchase ready-made trellises at garden centers or home improvement stores, or make your own using open-work ranch panels. Feeling creative? Re-purpose items like old bed springs — use t-posts or rebar to stake them into the ground, then let your vines grow up and do their thing!

Arbor: Typically a wooden or metal bench with a roof and enclosed with lattice panels, an arbor is often confused with a pergola (below). Arbors are charming additions to any garden, beckoning a gardener to sit and rest for a while in between planting and pruning. Be careful to add vines that will not take over the arbor to a degree that you can’t sit on the bench, however — then you’ll have simply created an interesting but nonfunctional piece of garden art.

Pergola: A pergola is a structure that includes vertical posts with overhead crossbeams upon which plants grow. It can be long, forming a walkway, or short, creating a leafy entrance from one garden space to another. While it can have seating underneath it, it typically doesn’t have seating attached to it like an arbor does.

Espalier: Espellier is a way of growing plants (particularly trees, shrubs, and woody vines) on a flat surface like a wall, a fence or a trellis. Traditionally, fruit trees have been grown this way for ages. The idea is to prune the plant to develop one main stem or trunk, then carefully over time, prune the side branches to grow laterally. It’s not only beautiful but allows the gardener to grow numerous plants on a smaller footprint — and if you can get some apples as a result? Major score.