Let's see your ARBORS and TRELLISES !

AMEN to that !

3 years ago, I went through 2 feline pregnancies about a month apart.

Neither of the mother cats were mine. They came from over the fence and evidently knew it was "safe" here. (The real owners were druggies, drunks. etc...) I already had 3 of my own cats at the time, all neutered males.

There was a total of 12 kittens, 2 mothers, plus my 3. Do the math: 17 cats...

I also had nerve damage in my leg at the time and couldn't walk w/o a cane. I had cats coming out the ying yang. I'd open the back door and 4 would come in... 6 would go out...3 would be running to hide under my bed...it was a three ring circus to put it mildly.

Half of the problem was my ignorance at thinking my adult male cats would hurt the kittens. I discovered too late that this is a myth. When the kittens were all out and about, the adult males would herd them up and bring them back to the pens. (I had two of those mesh baby cribs I kept them in.) I wish I'd known that earlier. Live and learn.

And yes, I was able to find homes for all of them. One entire family of them now loves at a retreat house...with a 360* ocean view...on multi-million dollar real estate...with a staff who cares for them...I should be so lucky!

JD, do know how to say MEOW?

LOL !

Louise, we had no problem finding homes for them. It was Easter, word of mouth. We had more people that wanted the puppies than there were puppies. They were so darn cute. A cross between a German Shepard, and something else large. Everyone that took a puppy reported back that they were the friendliest dogs ever. Our Bandit never met a person he didn't love. No guard dog in the bunch. One young woman took two of the puppies, and bought cribs for them. Not the conditions JDs kitties fell into, but pampered nonetheless. And I'm sure the mother went on to have more, as she took off two days before we had the appt to have her fixed.

wow! nice photos here! glad I found this thread.

DH built me an arbor this summer..... still have nothing planted to grow over it. can you all give me some ideas?
this arbor covers the steps to our lower area (where garden ends and chickens begin! lol!) not much planting room on either side, but I can put some pots on the lower level. its full sun all day in this area.

he also built me some trellises to plant vines along the gym/shed wall....

right now I just have one jasmine planted here.....any other ideas? also full sun.

please excuse the weeds! I am in the process of pouring a cement stone walkway that leads to the arbor in above pix....the weeds beat me to it again this year! grrr!

only other trellis I have for now is the black metal one that will hold my rose vine (cant remember the name right now!) once it grows up! this one is on the far right and goes over the gate that leads to our side yard (doggies yard!)

oops! posted wrong photo above! that one is of the black arbor.


this one is the trellis. I have 3 trellises along the entire wall of the shed/gym two large ones and one shorter one under the window.

He is also building me a large trellis for the other side of the yard that will hold my wisteria up.

That arbor (excellent craftsmanship btw...) is begging for a rose climber. Looks like you have just enough room for one on the left side...(with a harmonizing clematis to go with it ! ) do it do it do it .....

My favorite climbing rose is Eden, but in California you have many more options. Zuzu will be able to offer excellent advice on roses in CA.

As a matter of fact, our lucky friend AnjL lives within walking distance of Regan's Nursery, which carries more than 60 different climbing roses.

Great arbor, AnjL. I'd cover it with roses and clematis, but it also would look great with a Mandevilla or a Bougainvillea.

The feral cat presented me with six litters, so I guess she was here for three or four years. I kept every one of her kittens because they were so sweet and so beautiful. When she pushed the first litter through the cat door, she came back a couple of days later, stuck her head in the cat door, and called them. When she saw they were all there, she went away and didn't check up on them again. Actually, I guess she was checking up on me. After she saw that I kept the first litter, she never felt the need for that kind of roll call again.

I don't know where she lived most of the year. She only showed up here when she was ready to have a litter, would stay with the litter for four or five weeks, and then would go away again.

thanks. yes, I am a frequent shopper at Regans! LOL! my pocketbook is much lighter these days :o)

there really isnt room for a rose on the big arbor. I have a rosemary and daisy bush that have taken over on one side. the other side is only 6" between the gym and the arbor. the rest is all cement....unless I put a huge pot on the lower level :)

do clematis like full sun? and do they stay green all year?

They like full sun as long as their roots are kept cool. That's why I plant them with roses. The rose foliage shades the bottom of the clematis. A clematis will not stay green all year, however, unless it's something like Clematis armandii, but that one grows into such a monster that you'll never see your arbor again.

That's a good thought to keep in mind, Zuzu. If AnjL wants to show off the lovely trellis she might want a clematis that doesn't grow wild.

Oh, Such beautiful gardens you all have. I started out making little notes of each pic and pretty thing I have seen, but they are all just so beautiful I'm not sure I can mention them all. I will start out by saying that I just love to see California gardens. They always seem so full and lush.
Dale, are those Calla Lilies growing next to your beautiful arbor? I don't think I realized they grew so tall.
Zuzu, There is just so much to say about your lovely gardens. Love the little wandering paths. Looks like a warren of gorgeous beds with little surprises around every corner. What beautiful Roses you have. I particularly like the way you have displayed your art.
Pirl, That is a beautiful Languinosa Candida, I could use a white clematis for my lamppost bed. The size of your clematis are astounding. I too had a collapse of one of my clematis, I thought it was well attached until it slumped down you should have seen me out there trying to get it tied back up.
Calif_Sue, That Autumn Sunset is a beautiful Rose I must look that one up. I've seen some other pics of your gardens and they are truly beautiful.
Cheerpeople, That is some clematis, I had really wanted a Sweet Autumn Clematis to add some fall interest to my Lamppost and luckily thanks to DG I learned that it wasn't a good fit for that location before I planted it. Love your idea using grapevine as a trellis. Bet that adds some nice winter interest, too.
AnjL, What a handy husband you have, he does beautiful work.
Guess I will share some of my husbands beautiful work as well.

HollyAnn - please post some photos!

I'll start with my front walkway arbor. Ric built this quite a long time ago. It supports a Trumpet Vine.

beautiful Holly.

This winter shot taken just last month shows the structure. It's wired and we have small lights on it all year long and and extra outlet that comes in handy. I just tell everyone to look for the lighted arbor.

Of course they are of no use in the summer. LOL
I get a great deal of pleasure sitting on the front porch watching the Hummers coming in and out, they so love this plant. I will also warn you that Trumpet Vines can be very invasive, you might want to give a whole lot of thought before planting one.

Its just beautiful. The bones of your garden look great.

Great winter shot of that arbor. The "bones" of the vine are spectacular with the snow !

Great looking vine and very nice summer/winter photos.

Thanks, It is definetly a work in progress. This isn't exactly what you think of as an arbor. This is my Clipped Yew, we planted a few little seedlings close to 30 years ago. Right now it's in need of a trim but when properly trimmed the passage way is big enough for Ric to push a wheelbarrow through, my larger yard cart just doesn't quite make it though. The original idea was a small formal secret garden in the side yard area between the front yard and the fenced back yard. That still has never been planted but someday we will get around to it.

I just went out and took these pictures and I think they are the best ones I've ever taken of this. The white snow really shows the L shape of the front and the opening better than any of the summer pics I have.
This is taken from the back. This empty area, the never planted seceret garden has a few lilacs and is mostly used as a plant nursery. It is bordered by the hedge in the front and the fenced dog yard in the back. To one side is the house and the other side the Veggie garden.

wow how wonderful

My deck boxes, I grow Morning Glories on these along with an ever changing array of annuals.

The long view.

You put together some nice combos

Ditto ! VERY NICE !

Holly, love that arbor! I have the same trumpet vine growing on our freeway wall. Its a 35' UGLY cement block wall :o( that makes up our back fence. I planted the 3 trumpet vines about 3 yrs ago and hoping that this year they 'leap' and cover the wall. the hummers DO love it!

I love the idea of lights on tha arbor.... maybe need to talk DH into adding electrical outlet on mine! lol! we already have electrical in that area for the chicken coop and the gym.... and an extra outlet in that area would definitely be a a conveinent location for plugging in garden tools....hmmm! LOL!

I may need to go to Regans today and look for a climbing rose after all :o)... put it in a huge wine barrell on the lower level and let it grow :o) I love clematis, but lost mine last year ;o( didnt know the roots needed to stay cool. maybe I'll add some this year to cover our lil decorative fence that lines the upper area.

this shot...taken last june shows a bit of the trumpet vine and if you strain your eyes you can see the decorative fence behind all those glads! LOL

Thank you, Usually put OSP both Margarita and Blackie in there along with some kind of silver foliage plant and then pick some bright colored plant to highlight. I did Gerber Daisies for a few years and last year it was Salmon Geraniums, and Martha Washingtons. I ordered some smaller Dahlias from the Co-op for next year.
Here is one of my MG.

Your photo of the freeway wall reminds me of some friends of ours who had the exact same situation. The concrete blocks were hideous, so they painted their side an off white color. CalTrans got a little "miffed" at them for doing it, but allowed them to keep it as it was. No one could see it anyway, so it was no big deal...more of a power trip.

Then CalTrans came in and planted Creeping Fig on the wall and it filled in in no time. But, that came with it's own set of issues, too...namely the trimming of it...but it looks better than bare block.

Another neighbor planted Bougainvillea and actually drilled into the wall and attached wires for it to climb on. CalTrans made them remove it all. So stupid, isn't it ?

Rules is Rules.
I just hate a company that has no flexability.

LOL well, we too drilled holes and put up wires on our side of the freeway wall.... but caltrans hasnt see it yet! hopefully the vines will cover it all up and they wont know! the wall IS nicer than the bushes and chain link fence that used to be there! too terrifying to be in the backyard when an accident occurred! and the sound of the freeway was soooo loud we had to shout in the yard to carry on a conversation! now that the wall is there, we have ALOT more peace, but the sound now drops into the yards about a block away! LOL! I'm sure those neighbors hate the wall now too!

when planting clematis....can I just put it in the same pot as the roses? asking because I already have one rose climber in a wine barrell....thinking of putting a clematis in there with it....

Wow 1AnjL, That is a huge wall. Climbing vines can be destructive to mortar that's probably why CalTrans complains but I would image that there are a lot of areas where wild vines grow all over those walls. I see something climbing up the side of it is that the Trumpet Vine? What a beautiful sun filled garden, where are you going to put your chicken coop and hostas?
I've had my arbor lighted for years by a green extension cord that just snaked thru the grass and would occasionally get cut with the mower. Then last year when we redid the Lamppost bed (you'll see pics of that later) I had the guys extend the underground power out to the Arbor. It's really nice.
Creeping fig is one of my favorites. I've seen quite a few beautiful brick walls with creeping fig when traveling. This is a favorite pic of mine taken in Savannah S.C. Brick walled private garden with wrought iron gate and lighted arch. Open just enough to get a peek into a lovely garden.

Back to my own yard here are a few of my smaller trellises.
I'll start out with this little pot trellis I made from Grapevines. Not near as much of a project as yours Cheerpeople. It's for my Mandevilla. This was my Tropical Corner.

Here are two small ones the Shepherds Crook holds a small MG and the Hummer feeder. That strange looking pillar is really something Ric picked up and brought home. It was a discarded store display rack, just a metal grid approx 2ft wide and 4 ft tall with legs. We just dug up a small bed and staked it in place for MG. Next year I'll paint it to keep it from rusting.

MG from display rack