Do you need shade over your patio table? Do you want alternative places to grow vining plants? This will also be functional, as you can have privacy and grow food around your patio.
With this structure, you can have all of this in one! I got the idea from a homesteading book I was reading. My husband had the idea to use what we already had on hand.
Let’s Get Started!
Items we need:
Chicken wire or any wire, hardware cloth, etc
Leftover boards for the frame
We used a leftover frame from our previous canopy; you could use any metal structure
We also used our double-canvas umbrella for some shade in the meantime while we are waiting for our plants to grow and cover the top portion.
Step 1
Gather your materials.
Lay boards around the base so you can staple the chicken wire to them.
To save money, repurpose any items you may have lying around. We wrapped chicken wire around the tops of the metal frame and stapled it down to the boards at the bottom. We left wide open spaces to move in and out of the structure.
Next, we put a tarp down and we added mulch inside the structure so we wouldn’t have to deal with weeds. At this point, you could cover your structure with cloth. We already had a double umbrella we were going to use. Eventually, we hope to have climbing vines to cover the top.
Step 2
Research what kind of vining plants grow well in your area, what kinds of plants you would like to grow, etc.
We planted Scarlet Runner Beans on one side, a Cardinal Climber Vine, an Autumn Clematis, and a Burnt Red Clematis in another section. I plan to plant cucumber and many more climbing edibles next spring. I also decided to plant some more flowering vines.
These plants can offer you shade and food if you don’t have all the room you want in your garden.
Here is our Autumn Clematis in full bloom.
You might have to amend the soil if you are trying to grow edibles or plants with specific soil requirements.
Next: Pick Your Plants
What kinds of plants do you want to grow? Do you want edibles, fragrant vining plants, or just non-flowering vines?
Will you choose natives or non-natives?
Do you need to amend your soil to plant something in the spot? You might need to add compost at about 1 ” and then rake it into the soil until it is down a couple of inches.
Flowering plants to consider are: Morning Glory, Wisteria, Clematis, climbing roses, Cardinal Climber vine, and Honeysuckle. This year, when we added the two Honeysuckle plants, we planted them with Biochar. Biochar is a soil amendment that is derived from wood chips, plant residues, manure, or other agricultural waste products.
Some edibles to consider are: Sunset Runner Beans, Green Beans, Yellow Beans, Passion Flower, grapes, and Sunburst Summer Squash. I tried to plant the beans last spring, but I don’t think they received enough sun on that side of the structure. I also didn’t try amending the soil before I planted. We have very clay-like soil here in NE Ohio.
How about a native vining plant? Here are some ideas:
I like the minimal look of Virginia creeper, or ivy. What will you choose?
This is when we first planted our Honeysuckle in the spring.
Here is how it looks two months later with a bloom.
Patio Furniture
Choosing your patio furniture to fit your space that will make it an oasis for your family can be daunting. Will you choose a large table and some chairs surrounding it? What about a coffee table and some low comfy chairs?
We chose to spray paint our existing table and chairs a bright blue. Then we repurposed our double umbrella from our previous deck to give us some shade while our plants grow up to cover the structure.
Here is our first Honeysuckle bloom…
We also planted two Elderberries on the west side of our structure so when the sun is going down at night, we have shade from that side of our patio. The Elderberry is a fast-growing bush that has many health benefits.
PIN FOR LATER
Lastly, once the vining plants start to grow over to the top of the structure, you will want to create some kind of more secure structure for them to cling to. The only vine we have that is growing that tall so far is our Autumn Clematis. So, for right now we are still using our umbrella for the shade we need.
Do you have a shade structure on your property? If you don’t, what kind do you want to try to create? What can you repurpose to save money? Leave your comments below.
Leave a Reply