A few weekends ago, I decided that our townhouse’s backyard needed a little visual separation from our neighbor’s yard… Okay, let’s be honest, I got tired of watching them walk across our yard to get to the sidewalk so I did what every passive aggressive person would do and put up a trellis. <blush> I’m terrible, I know. But seriously, I had been thinking about a way to hide us from our neighbor’s overgrown yard, screen our A/C unit, and add a little height and extra color to our backyard.
screen that green
I purchased three 3′x6′ wooden trellises from our local plant nursery. Husband and I laid them out in various arrangements, not really liking the options until he (brilliantly) suggested we angle the center one. I set to work digging holes for each post (using a bulb planting tool) and packed the dirt in tightly around each post. Husband used a rubber mallet to pound them deeper in the dirt and even them out since they’re arranged on a slight slope.
Where the corners of each of the trellises met, I planted a New Dawn climbing rose bush. This type of rose is a super hardy, repeat blooming, and fast-growing variety, that will grow to 12′-18′ x 6′-10′. As it grows, I’ll have to be pretty conscientious about weaving it in and out of the trellises until it totally covers them and the pair of bushes intertwine.
Yeah, so the backyard looks a little junky right now with the grill in the way, the not-so-happy ornamental grasses (trampled by aforementioned neighbors!), and the neighbor’s yard and our A/C unit still plainly visible, but I have high hopes for how it will look in a year or two, covered in shoots and blooms!
vase of new blooms
I’ve already been surprised at how many blooms these bushes have produced – such a pretty pale pink and so fragrant! I love that I can go outside everyday and cut a fresh (albeit short-stemmed) rose to put in a little vase…how’s that for price-per-bloom?! Here’s about 6 of them in a little white ceramic pot from IKEA…don’t you love their coloring?
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Wow that is gorgeous! Gardening (seems to be) all about waiting for that gratification… but at least you get beautiful roses along the way. The trellises are going to be well worth the wait… and I LOVE the angled center one! Way to go Husband!