Practically Free Rose Trellis

Jan's Garden Art
by Jan's Garden Art
6 Materials
I originally did this project in 2015. Hurricane Matthew came to visit - causing me to do some minor repairs. So while I may not have the painting pictures, you get the point and you get to see a cool project!
Right after Hurricane Matthew. We will rebuild!


See the ugly electric meter? Definitely need to hide that thing! Not the 'focal point' I want.
First, you want to decide how many pallets you need. For our trellis, we wanted to span the roses and hide the ugly electric meter - 2 pallets were perfect. I chose 2 pallets that had a larger board across the top. Perfect for my quote and graphics. I wanted that natural peeling look, so I painted them pink first (I used leftover oil based paint that happened to be pink). When dry, I added a 2nd coat of yellow. When dry, I chose my quote and graphics. "If you have a garden & a library you have everything you need. -Cicero-" Stenciled them on. When fully dry (24 hrs) I coated the top board ONLY with a poly seal. I only did the top board as I LIKE the natural weathered look. Seal completely if you don't.
There is a giant dirt patch here BECAUSE of the method I'm going to show you, however, it will work on full grass.


Start by mowing your grass around the roses as SHORT as you can. Don't worry about "burning" the grass, you want it to die.
Now, figure out the placing of your stake holes. The stakes will hold your pallets in place. Once you have the stake holes marked, on to the next step.
Get your larger cardboard pieces and place them to cover the areas you will be mulching. Then start layering over top of the pieces so that no ground/grass can see the sun. Make sure you cover underneath the pallet as well.
Cardboard is great for this! It lets the water through, but not the grass. It will decompose naturally eventually.


You know those boxes you get from Amazon or other online retailers? Start saving them! I also used fruit boxes, nice and thick! The thicker cardboard is better.


Find the seam of the box - carefully separate the seam, then open the box.
(Yes - this is a small box. For demonstration purposes!)


When the box is opened - you can see how you can get a larger piece from it.
Now bang your stakes in about 18" into the ground. When all stakes are in, lift pallet over top of the stakes (stakes should be in the center of the pallet, close to the edges as shown). Screw the pallet to the stakes. We did 4 screws on each stake.
And it's up! See the pink showing through? I love it! If you don't - 2 coats of the same color and poly seal completely.
Now - go grab some free pinecones. If you don't have any Pine trees in your yard - find a friend who does! They will appreciate your picking up of their pinecones. Yes, you could still use mulch of any type. But go back to the 3rd picture and you will see what a year of this will do. Kill the grass, giving your plants nice dirt to use!


And check it out! No more Electric Meter as a focal point! Now a beautiful practically free (except the paint - unless you reuse leftover like me!) Rose Trellis.
Suggested materials:
  • Pallets
  • Stakes   (Made from the pallets)
  • Cardboard boxes   (shipping/fruit boxes)
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3 of 4 comments
  • Cori Widen Cori Widen on Nov 15, 2016
    Lovely!
  • Donna Montgomery Donna Montgomery on Nov 19, 2016
    That's your electric meter...the electric co. Is not going to be pleased
    • Jan's Garden Art Jan's Garden Art on Nov 21, 2016
      Yes it is my electric meter. About 5 feet away from the trellis. Take a look again at the pictures. It's far enough away for them to read it in person - IF - they ever did. They read mine via their office. No one ever actually comes to my property.
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