Vine containment (aka trellis #3)

Trellis #3 is finished AND installed. The trellis was finished not a moment too soon. The existing trellis, pretty yet not functional, was not providing adequate support for the clematis so the plant was starting to become a ball of vines laying on the ground.

We finished off the top of the trellis with one of the old electric insulators we bought on a scavenging trip. Lou came up with the idea of using a thick wooden dowel (perhaps wooden pole is a more apt description) so the insulator was elevated slightly off the top. It also eliminated the need to deal with any type of epoxy or adhesive.

Installation of the new trellis was, well, not pretty. It basically involved me “stuffing” the vine into the new trellis from the bottom. I did minimal damage to the vine and tried to encourage new growth to grab on. The new trellis provides plenty of support and clinging opportunities. The best “duh” moment of this project was when I was painting it. I ended up laying the trellis on the ground and literally crawled up the center. However, it would have been wise to paint the bottom, then the top. Instead, I did the top part then the bottom. The result — a LOT of white paint in my hair (that was mistaken more than once for gray hair). Lesson learned!