13 Trellis Ideas and Plant Structures for Your Garden

13 Trellis Ideas and Plant Structures for Your Garden

by — Andra DelMonico
Published on May 11, 2022
Updated on March 28, 2025

Some plants simply cannot support themselves. They love to prolifically grow but need a structure to support them. While many of these plants are vines, they aren’t always. So, whether you’re looking to grow ivy or tomatoes, you need a trellis. These decorative structures provide a supportive structure for your plant to grow to its full potential. These DIY garden trellis ideas will give you nicer solutions than the basic metal frame options.

1. Arbor Trellis for Walkway Elegance

If you have a walkway in outdoor space, you could build an arbor trellis. This is a freestanding trellis that arches over the walkway so that you can walk underneath it. They are large structures but perfect for giving you plenty of growing space for a flowering vine.

Wooden arbor trellis with climbing roses and clematis, leading to a cozy paved garden patio with outdoor seating. — Source: @homeandgardenat46a via Instagram

Stained wood arbor trellis with lush greenery and blooms, framing a curved garden path through vibrant backyard plantings. — Source: @jcnixonphoto via Instagram

Wooden trellis draped in blooming purple wisteria, creating a lush and colorful garden walkway. — Source: @jweng18 via Instagram

Black trellis with white wisteria vines frames a serene garden nook with a white chair and charming flower-filled baskets. — Source: @mysoulfulhome via Instagram

Modern black trellis fence with geometric lines and young climbing vines, adding bold contrast to a lush garden space. — Source: @sweetolivecottage via Instagram

Rustic wooden arbor frames a charming path to a brick cottage with mossy roof and white shutters, surrounded by greenery. — Source: @tomneedlesphotos1 via Instagram

White garden arbor with lattice sides and climbing roses, opening to a charming fenced veggie garden and lush greenery beyond. — Source: @wanderinggardenfarm via Instagram

Simple wooden arbor with built-in bench, surrounded by lush greenery and red berry branches in a peaceful garden setting.

Your arbor trellis could be made of wood or metal. It could be simplistic with a simple mesh arch or elaborate with a pergola style top and ornate trellis design. You’ll need two of your chosen plants, such as climbing roses, at the base of your arch. They will then grow up on either side and meet in the middle at the top of the arch.

2. Elevate Your Outdoor Spaces with Arch Trellis Ideas

An arched trellis can be used in more places than just over a walkway. Add an arch just outside of an exterior door on your home and have a more elegant entrance space. An arch trellis could be large and act as a covering for your entire deck or patio.

Elegant metal arch trellis with white climbing roses, framing a grand entrance with palm trees and a central water fountain. — Source: @desireehabicht via Instagram

Arched metal trellis over raised brick garden beds, supporting lush climbing plants in a productive vegetable garden. — Source: @indara_farms via Instagram

Rusty metal arch trellis with climbing yellow blooms leads through a charming gravel path between raised vegetable garden beds. — Source: @jennyroseinnes via Instagram

Romantic metal arch trellis with white climbing roses nestled in a lush, colorful cottage garden bursting with blooms. — Source: @monterey_farmgirl via Instagram

Minimalist black arch trellis with raised wooden garden beds, set against a scenic mountain view and sunset sky. — Source: @notedsimply via Instagram

Arched trellis with climbing vines and string lights glows at dusk, nestled between raised wooden beds in a cozy backyard garden. — Source: @ocfarmergirl via Instagram

Arched metal trellis spans between raised beds in a fenced backyard garden, ready to support climbing vegetables and vines. — Source: @piningforpeace via Instagram

Lush green tunnel trellis formed by arched metal frames and climbing vines, lining a vibrant garden path with raised beds. — Source: @standing.pine.acres via Instagram

Dramatic arched lattice trellis with string lights and climbing vines, creating a stylish entryway framed by tall blue planters. — Source: @treylafave via Instagram

Instead of having a flower garden off to the side, you could spend your time surrounded by blooms. The leafy vines will provide plenty of shade as they filter the sun’s rays.

3. Improve Your Garden Aesthetics with Stylish Trellis Choices

The trellis you use for your plants will be visible until your plant grows enough to cover it completely. Because of this, you’ll want to choose an attractive trellis. The trellis adds just as much decor and style to your outdoor space as the flowering vine. This could be a metal trellis that looks similar to a privacy screen with an intricate design.

Modern geometric metal trellis with stacked square frames adds a sculptural touch to a mulched garden bed with young climbing plants. — Source: @into_the_rust via Instagram

Rustic trellis structure made of thick logs and curved branches, blending organically into a wooded garden landscape. — Source: @northwest.reclaimed via Instagram

Creative wooden trellis with a honeycomb hexagon pattern, mounted on a fence to support a small climbing plant below. — Source: @shitdianamakes via Instagram

Modern black metal trellis with geometric design mounted on a red barn wall, supporting young climbing plants in a neat garden bed. — Source: @themacfarmpack via Instagram

Dome-shaped metal trellis forms a green sanctuary with climbing vines, creating a natural garden retreat in an open field.

There could be colored glass accents in the trellis design. You could build your trellis out of wood to create geometric shapes. Incorporate the trellis as a part of your outdoor space to turn it and your growing plant into a living wall.

See more garden decor ideas here.

4. Create Your Own Affordable Custom Trellis

You don’t have to spend a lot of money buying your new trellis. Instead, you could build your own custom trellis that fits perfectly into your available space and the architectural design of your home.

Whimsical cone-shaped trellis made of colorful branches and twigs, creating a playful and artistic garden focal point. — Source: @cheater_tree via Instagram

DIY A-frame garden trellises made from wood and wire mesh, set up in raised beds to support climbing vegetables. — Source: @chefotside via Instagram

Simple DIY bamboo trellis with a ladder-like top, ideal for supporting climbing plants in a sunny, tropical backyard garden. — Source: @yardveggie via Instagram

Check out DIY trellis ideas to get inspired and use them as a guide for your project. The easiest building material to work with is wood. It’s readily available and easy to work with. Your next step is to decide on a design. There are flat trellis designs that need support to stand up. There are also freestanding designs, such as an arch or teepee trellis design.

See more DIY garden ideas here.

5. Build an Espalier Support Trellis

An espalier is not the same as a trellis. This ancient horticultural practice could be the perfect solution if you have limited garden space. The practice takes traditional plants and trains the branches to turn them into a vertical garden. You’ll use a wireframe to train tree branches to grow similarly to a vining plant.

Wooden arbor supports an espaliered lemon tree, creating a charming garden walkway with lush greenery, potted plants, and a cozy bench. — Source: @gardening.with.dominica via Instagram

You’ll direct the branches to grow in horizontal lines on a flat plane against the wire as the tree grows. Trim any branches that try to grow outward and away from the wall. This practice is perfect for growing fruit trees in limited space while maximizing your fruit production.

6. Creating a Dual-Purpose Fence and Trellis

Instead of building a traditional fence around your property, you could build a fence that also acts as a trellis. There are two methods for accomplishing this. The first is to build a trellis fence that your vines will grow directly on.

Tall wooden lattice fence panels provide privacy while supporting climbing plants in a freshly mulched backyard garden bed. — Source: @designrenopratique via Instagram

Elegant rooftop trellis fence with built-in planters and ambient lighting, creating a cozy and stylish evening garden seating area. — Source: @gardentrellisco via Instagram

Modern rooftop patio with wooden lattice trellis panels and potted climbing plants, offering privacy and a stylish outdoor vibe. — Source: @kandirmazahsap via Instagram

Simple gray-painted fence with fan-shaped trellis panels and a fresh flower bed, ready for climbing plants in a tidy backyard. — Source: @littlehouseofhacks via Instagram

Rustic wooden lattice fence borders a cozy garden bed filled with spring blooms, potted plants, and a young blossoming tree. — Source: @sewandsownature via Instagram

Freshly installed white grid trellis panels on a backyard fence, ready to support climbing plants in a small urban garden. — Source: @timewarpterraced via Instagram

White fence trellis covered in blooming star jasmine lines a sunlit garden walkway, creating a fragrant and inviting passage.

Charming white trellis fence with a circular gate, vibrant climbing roses, and colorful flowers lining the path into a lush garden.

The other option is to build a fence and then mount your trellis to the inside of the fence. Both options require you to add additional support to the fence to ensure it can withstand the additional weight of the vines growing on the fence.

7. Lattice Trellis for Stylish Privacy Fences

Lattice is a popular accent on the top of privacy fences. You can use this material to build a matching trellis. It comes in large sheets at your local home improvement store. Buy a sheet in natural wood and then paint it to match the color of your home. Or you can buy lattice made from PVC for a bright white accent that’s low maintenance.

A-frame wooden lattice trellis set in a lush garden bed, perfect for supporting climbing plants in a sunny backyard nook. — Source: @albert_bebe_neko_smudge via Instagram

Arched wooden lattice trellis panel placed against a warm-toned garden fence, ideal for training vines in a tidy backyard flower bed. — Source: @doubledigging31 via Instagram

Freestanding wooden lattice trellis creates a stylish privacy screen for a cozy patio area, with young vines beginning to climb. — Source: @johndocrowley via Instagram

To keep your lattice from looking cheap, add a decorative frame to the lattice to give the edges a finished look. You can mount your lattice frame to the exterior wall of your home, mount it on a freestanding frame, or sink the bottom into the ground.

8. Matching Trellis Size to Plant Growth

Scale the size of your trellis to the size of the plant that you grow on it. For example, a large plant with thick vines will need a larger trellis with bigger openings. A smaller plant with more delicate vines will need a scaled-down trellis.

Curved mesh wire trellis frames a raised garden bed on a tiered patio, perfect for vertical growing in a compact green space. — Source: @backyardveggiespatch via Instagram

Look at both the overall size of the trellis and the size of the gaps in the supports. For example, there is fine chicken wire with small holes or wire with large square or rectangle holes. Mesh wire is a more delicate support system, perfect for smaller plants or those with many offshoots that need close together support. Choose a design that has mesh supported by a strong fame.

9. Go with the Metal Garden Trellis for Durability

If you prefer to have a trellis made of something other than wood, then a natural choice would be to consider metal. However, not all metal is a good option. The metal you choose needs to be strong enough to withstand harsh weather and be corrosion-resistant.

Decorative metal trellis with ornate scrollwork stands behind a pastel raised planter, supporting young climbing vines in a quaint garden. — Source: @just_a_normal_coffee_please_ via Instagram

Sleek black metal trellis with grid design stands over a rock-filled garden bed, guiding tall climbing vines in a suburban backyard. — Source: @kevins.landscapes via Instagram

You don’t want the trellis to rust from underneath the plant or get blown away in the wind. You could build a steel or copper trellis. Aluminum is also a good option, but you’ll want to securely anchor it so that it doesn’t blow away.

10. Optimize Vegetable Garden with Trellis Support

If you have a vegetable garden, you may need to add a small trellis to support the plants growing in your garden bed. You would add a single trellis for peas, pole beans, and cucumber plants.

Modern black trellis panels rise from sleek planter boxes, providing vertical support for young garden shrubs in a tidy backyard. — Source: @grennan_conor via Instagram

Tall wooden planter box with attached lattice trellis, perfect for climbing plants along a rustic fence line in an open garden area. — Source: @handmade_garden_furniture via Instagram

You could use a tomato trellis for all of them. These small supports are flat and rectangular in shape or round and shaped like a cone. Don’t buy a trellis for the size of the plant you currently have. Instead, size up to give the plant plenty of room to grow on the trellis.

11. Maximize Plant Growth with Trellises

Some climbing plants will naturally cling to a trellis without your help. For example, you have a cucumber trellis on which you train your plant to grow. The plant won’t naturally hold onto the trellis, so you’ll need to tie the plant to the trellis. This becomes even more crucial once the plant starts producing cucumbers because the produce is heavy and will pull on the vine.

Simple string trellis setup in a raised garden bed, with twine hanging from a top rope for supporting climbing vegetables like peas or beans. — Source: @peacefulwildshu via Instagram

Vertical string trellis system suspended from a wooden frame inside a greenhouse, ideal for training climbing vegetables in a compact garden. — Source: @the.frugal.gardeners via Instagram

Wood A-frame string trellis set up on a patio, perfect for supporting climbing plants in a garden or raised bed. — Source: @woodgrain73 via Instagram

Garden twine is a popular option for securing climbing vines, but it isn’t always the best option. The twine can cut into the plant, inuring it. Instead, you can use specialty plant ties to secure your vines to the garden trellises.

12. Transform Your Outdoor Space with Trellis Walls

Living walls are a popular trend in turning an outdoor living space into a green and comfortable space. However, this can be challenging because you may not have the property to plant around your patio or deck. If you only have space for potted plants, you’ll want to build a trellis wall.

Three black V-shaped wooden trellises mounted on a white brick wall, ready to support climbing plants in a minimalist garden. — Source: @allthat.grows via Instagram

Tall black metal lattice trellis mounted on a brick wall corner, supporting a climbing plant next to a staircase. — Source: @curlyqsgarden via Instagram

Three arched metal trellises mounted on a garden wall, training espaliered fruit trees next to raised planting beds. — Source: @hansnobledesign via Instagram

Black metal square trellis mounted on a cinder block wall, supporting a young climbing plant in a gravel garden corner. — Source: @obg_metalworks via Instagram

Decorative wooden fan trellises on a stucco wall with lush vines growing from bright blue planters below. — Source: @rightontrailhiker via Instagram

Curved wooden trellis mounted on a garden wall, supporting lush climbing vines and surrounded by colorful flowering plants.

Wooden grid trellis on a yellow wall with grapevines climbing across, paired with a simple wooden bench below.

You can follow DIY trellis ideas to build a lattice wall that perfectly fits your available space. You’ll then encourage your potted plants to grow throughout the trellis to fill in gaps and become a living wall. Unlike succulent walls, this design is lighter weight and easier to maintain.

See more garden wall ideas here.

13. Durable Wood Choices for Long-Lasting Trellises

While you could build a simple trellis out of treated 2×4 beams, this isn’t your only wood option. Teak and acacia wood are durable options that hold up well in high moisture environments. This makes the wood durable enough to be left in moist soil without rotting.

Simple wooden trellis with horizontal slats and climbing vines, set against a gray wall with hanging bird feeders. — Source: @artwindowsbybrandy via Instagram

Small wooden trellis with geometric design in a raised garden bed, supporting lush green berry vines. — Source: @garde_ning01 via Instagram

An environmentally sustainable option is to use bamboo poles. You could use the bamboo for just the stakes or make an entire bamboo trellis. Bamboo is a sustainable plant, but it is also durable and strong, helping your trellis to last a long time.

What material is best for a trellis?

The best materials to use for your trellis are durable, strong, and safe for use outside. Bamboo, aluminum, and PVC plastics are all good options. They won’t rust, corrode, or be susceptible to UV rays.

How do you secure a trellis in the ground?

To ensure your trellis stays in place, you’ll want to anchor it to the ground. You can do that with long spikes made from wood or metal. Drive the stakes into the ground, leaving a portion above ground. Tie the trellis to the stake.

How do I attach a plant to a trellis?

You’ll need to train the plant as it grows to make it easier to secure the plant to the trellis. It helps to follow the natural curve and structure of the plant. Some plants will naturally cling to the trellis, and you won’t need to secure them. For others, use plant ties to hold the vines in place.