Summer Creepers!

Clematis, hollyhocks, morning glories...flowers that thrive on sun, humidity and heat: three things I don't thrive on! Ha! Summertime beauties that lure hummingbirds and bees as well as hide a multitude of eyesores: tired landscaping, broken fences, odd drainage pipes. I was finally going to get a showy creeper to distract from the ugly corner (one of the ugly corners!) in our backyard. Now....to hide the dandelions!???

Supplies:

>a creeping plant (clematis, morning glory, hollyhock for example)

>Jute twine

>Scissors

>Ruler and tape measure

1. Buy (or start seeds for) your favorite creeper! In April, I started Heavenly Blue Morning Glory and dazzling Cypress Vine on our south-facing porch. I'm both thrifty and a biology dork that loves watching the photosynthesis process.

2. Identify where you are going to put the trellis and determine how tall the trellis needs to be. Mine needed to be roughly 8 feet tall from the ground to where I planned to tethered it.

3. Gather sticks and break/saw into 1-2' wide pieces. I also used a longer (3') for the very top rung to steady the trellis.

4. Lay out your trellis - spacing the sticks about 6 - 8" apart - depending on how many sticks you have and how far apart you want each rung. It's not rocket science - thank God!

5. Using the jute, attach the sticks together with slipknots. DON'T CUT THE JUTE! Leave at least a foot of slack at the end of the jute. Don't tighten the knot until you put the stick end through. Repeat for the entire length of the ladder on one side.

6. Once you finish attaching the jute to one side of the trellis, leave a bit of slack before continuing down the other side of the trellis. Continue to create slip knots and feed the other side of each rung into the knot. Again, don't cut the jute!

7. Hang the trellis. This took a bit of trial and error for me since I was hanging it from an unused cable wire and the drain pipe. Classy, I know!

8. Place the potted plant (in my case) underneath the trellis and start feeding any vines up the rungs. I used a metal yard sign holder to get the vines started and to help secure the trellis in place better, but that's not necessary.

9. Enjoy and wait! As you can see, once the vines creep and the flowers present themselves no one will notice the rocky landscape mess and the compost bin! Close up is ONE day after I hung the trellis. Sunny, hot and humid is the key! Blech!

What do you do to survive the summer heat? I much prefer to enjoy summer from inside my igloo; however, I still enjoy the green, the wildlife and the FLOWERS!