Buildin a Grapevine Arbour!

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi Guys,

When we took over our 2nd plot (3 years ago) we inherited a shed and a grapevine growing up the front of it, which has got bigger and bigger, to the point that we are struggling to pass it, SEE THE PICCY!



So, I hit on the idea of building an arbour for it to grow over, which we started today!



This is the basics done, we've a couple more cross pieces and braces to fit, the wiring to put in and we want to paint it, but we're really pleased with how its looking, so thought I'd share it with you!

Any ideas or hints and tips how to improve on it would be appreciated!

[binley100]

I want one ..........It's looking good

[Snadger]

Well impressed Mr and Mrs D! I feel another project coming on myself now I've been inspired!

[rustylady]

Brilliant, well done

[Tomatoking]

mmmmm just imagine all the grapes hanging down next year.

[Mrs Dobby]

Thanks guys, glad you like it! We are hoping to finish it off later on today (as well as do the bee inspections on the 7 hives and do some harvesting), so I'll hopefully be able to get some more piccies of the progress!

[Snadger]

Thanks guys, glad you like it! We are hoping to finish it off later on today (as well as do the bee inspections on the 7 hives and do some harvesting), so I'll hopefully be able to get some more piccies of the progress!

Do grapes and honey not make Mead?

[Bountyhunter]

Thanks guys, glad you like it! We are hoping to finish it off later on today (as well as do the bee inspections on the 7 hives and do some harvesting), so I'll hopefully be able to get some more piccies of the progress!

That will be great when its all tied in and trained! I had a pergola built last year for my, now 3 year old vine. I cut it back this year to get a good crop of drapes but i think i will leave it to cover it now. I have pics in my blog that show mine. Nothing fancy just plain timber.

Yours will offer so much welcome shade everyone will be under it lol

[Mrs Dobby]

Construction is now finished!

Well, as you can see in the piccies, the arbour building is finished! Just got to paint it, then train the vine over it, plant the 2 clematis that are going to grow up the front supports, then find something to cap the uprights off, and its done!


Full view, we had to add the second bracing crosspieces at the front as one of the top ones had a crack in it!


The corner braces are in!


Wiring is done and tensioned, and the grapes are hanging down (ish)


Some of the vine tendrills are already at the front of the arbour!

I'll post some piccies of it again once its been painted and beautified!

[Dottie]

Looks great as do the lovely big bunch of grapes.

I collected a really solid garden arbour a few of weeks ago, via freecycle. I have plans for it to be built in front of my blue shed which has a large sunflower painted on it. Once I've enlisted some strong helpers to assemble it and the wood get time to dry out from all the recent rain, I shall be planting various things in the 2 raised beds that it will half cover, to climb up the poles.

My grapevine is on the other end of my allotment, climbs up a very solid wooden arch, where my wooden bench and frog pond are situated. Close by I have a pathway arch and boundary fence that supports loads of blackberry plants.

I mention this because I have read somewhere that grapevines and blackberries are great companion plants, so maybe it might be worthwhile considering blackberries too? Mine certainly do really well, but I'd actually planted them before I read that were companion plants, so that was a stroke of luck.

Lovely to see I'm not the only one coming up with such "grand" ideas, because I'll get loads of comments about how posh it will look, and how it looks more like a garden than an allotment plot. But I've had that since I got my plot 3 years ago, when I was the first to put up a shed, bench, pond and arches at the end of each row of raised bed paths. Interestingly there are now several sheds and structures all over the allotment, seems a lot of folk didn't know you could have a shed and didn't think to ask.

Also like you I have my walk-in plastic greenhouse supported and strapped to the shed, although these days I use it more for storage than for growing things. My shed position was selected by the fact that there is a large tree very close by, and by the looks of it your decision was also made for you.

Looks a lovely and productive plot, great photo's too. Thanks.

[Mrs Dobby]

Finished..... well, almost!

Well, its painted, the birdfeeders are up, the birdhouse mounted and the clematis are planted!



We're both very happy with how it looks, haven't found anything for the top of the uprights, but we've decided to get some biiiiig pinecones and mount them as finials, plus I've got some lovely celtic greenman plaques coming (ebay) to cover the joints between the crosspieces and the uprights!

I'll post a couple more pics once they arrive and are mounted!

Hi Dottie,

Your grapevine arbour and plot sound lovely!

We've not been accused of being posh or having grand designs on our plot, fortunately we grow enough fruit and veg that folks usually call us farmers rather than allotmenteers, but I am conscious that some folks do feel that anyone that spends money on their plots isnt a real allotmenteer! Personally, it matters not to me how much folks spend, its the quality of their produce and how well they look after their growing area that matters the most, not what structures or designer gear they have!

[Dottie]

It's amazing how much nicer it looks by just painting the posts to match the shed and now you'll both have somewhere to sit in the shade, on those sunny days that are will soon be with us!

I've actually hardly bought any of my structures and stuff, I've collected and adapted 90% of items from freecycle. A 8' x 6' shed already painted blue, with an lovely yellow sunflower painted to the right of the door. Paving slabs for base of shed, greenhouse and 2 pathways, loads of wood from bunkbeds, floorboards and stuff, which were made into raised beds. Wooden bench, wooden arch, railway sleepers, fence posts, cement edging strips, 8 waterbutts, plastic walk-in greenhouse, 3 scaffold boards, tyres, 3 compost bins, pallets delivered for another compost bin, tree chippings delivered and spread out for me on some pathways, all the hose pipes I could ever need, watering cans, bamboo canes, loads of plastic and ceramic pots, a regular supply of chicken poo, bulters sink, all my allotment tools, wheelbarrows, new roofing felt, etc etc. And now my new garden arbour and 2 aluminium garden chairs, once I find some strong bodies to put the arbour up.

I did buy all the metal arches that are at the end of each pathway, for fruit to grow up. But I got them in Wilkinson's sale @ £1.25 each, not very sturdy (so I hammered in posts next to them for extra support), which means the paths and plot look great.

Plus as I'm into companion planting and have lots of fruit needing pollination, I have lots of perennials flowers and herbs at the end of each pathway and along the public footpath boundary fence, and some beds have Love-in-the-mist, poppies and cornflowers in when no veg is growing.

I'm a natural organiser, planner, designer type of person and I just can't see the point in not making things look nice as well as been practical and productive. I think as there are now more women taking on plots, sites are looking a lot more colourful and maybe what is then deemed to be more "garden like". Although I'm sure there are lots of guys on here and on other sites that like things to look pleasing to the eye, I just happened to get a site that was over-run with old men who have set ideas. But things they are a changing.

Mind you having said that, mine is not looking as good/tidy as it should at the mo, as I've not being down there much this year. But because the structure is already in place, with raised beds, then it's not doing badly without me and is still producing enough for me to eat. Weeds are not a problem as it's no-dig plot, it's all the canes of fruit that need tying in.

As you can tell from the above I love my plot, even when I only pop over to check on it for 10 mins or so, as it means I walk away with more plans of what needs doing etc. I'm just as passionate about my new (this year) Feng Shui garden and often transfer/divide perennials from there to the plot.

Anyway thanks again for your lovely photo's, I love to see other folks ideas and in this case, it was good to see I'm not the only one putting up an arbour next to the shed on d'lottie.