Cedar Arbor Branches

Adding cedar branches gives plants more surface to climb. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Cedar Arbor Branches

Buying, and making, a garden arbor is more than just two elliptical shapes held together. The garden arbor also needs more intricate supports for the plants that you plan to grow over it.

If the garden arbor is metal, that can be hard to add. Unless you have native cedar trees, which I have in abundance.

I like to remove the bottom cedar branches so i can walk by them without having to wrestle my way around them, giving me a good source of garden arbor supports.Now I collect cut cedar branches to add structure to my garden arbors so the climbing plants have an easier way to grow.

Climbing roses appreciate having cedar branches to grow on. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

This garden arbor stands between two windows. I have climbing rose starts given to me making their way up the sides so the roses will be visible at the top from the inside, where i have chairs facing out into the garden. On either side of the arbor, away from the house, are old-fashioned lilacs that make their presence known when they are in bloom. Great excuse to open all of the windows!

Anchoring either side of the arbor and the seat are boxwoods to give the space a little privacy.

Adding the cedar branches is easy, especially the ones with a little curve.

Use the cedar branch curve to secure the branch in between the metal rungs. It may take a little trial and error. I will clip off the branch sticking up on the right and will secure the curved branch on the left to give roses more places to grow overhead.

I’m just starting to add cedar branches to this new arbor. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I am adding cedar branches to another new metal arbor. This is replacing an older one that got bent in a wind storm.

I start by adding vertical cedar branches up each side. The straight cedar branches provide the metal arbor additional support and are secured to the metal arbor with metal twist ties. As i find other cedar branches, i can now easily weave them into the metal.

New arbor marking a path is getting cedar branches added. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Most garden arbors need more vertical supports for climbing plants to spread the greenery. Here’s a garden arbor I made completely out of cedar branches to give my raspberries support. I weave the raspberry plant tips through the top, making a low shade arbor.

I plant shade-loving herbs underneath.

This raspberry arbor is all cedar branches! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Cut down your cedar branches right before you use them. The branches will be easy to fit into spots where you have to bend them into a particular space.

i have also used cedar branches that have weathered after a while but they are a bit more challenging to bend into a shape.

Charlotte