I love where I live. I love my gardens as well, but they are FLAT!!

Over the years I have come up with some reasonably inexpensive and creative ways to add height to my gardens.

The photo to the right is a very good example. Well placed poles scattered throughout the gardens give wonderful height. Plant the poles with hanging pots or let a vine climb up them. The poles I have are cemented into the ground since we have a problem with frost heave. I must thank dbsmith2 for his beautiful photo and example!!

Another good idea, thank you GranvilleSouth for the photo, is to use a rotary clothes line. You know the ones, they unfold like an umbrella and can be stuck in the ground. These are wonderful for climbing vines. They can be made even higher by affixing them to another, slimmer pole since they are often hollow.

Arbors. Planted with vines or climbing roses they can create nicely scented height in any garden. Arbors can be further decorated by placing raised beds at their bases. Hanging pots can be hung from their corners. As an added bonus, put a bench under the arbor for a quiet place to relax after a hard day of weeding. Thank you rcn48 for the arbor photo and victorgardener for adding a convenient bench. Arbors come in many shapes and sizes, they can be home-made from any materials at hand or store bought fully assembled or as a kit. A gardener can easily find a suitable shape and size to fit any need.

Old television antennae's are another cost efficient way to add height to a flat garden. They can be used in the same way the poles above are. Bury and/or cement them in deep enough to be stable and plant away. I like them for Honeysuckle and Morning Glories.

Trellis. A trellis does not have to be up against a wall. I built one right out in the open. Standing a little over 6 feet high, right in the middle of my longest perennial bed. The trellis is planted with Clematis and Morning Glories. It creates a break along the sight-line of an otherwise very long, flat garden.

Garden benches and little tool sheds can also help create height. There is a fellow here in town that makes the cutest tool sheds out of old barn boards. He builds them to look like outhouses of old. The garden bench in the photo was built by my Dad. There are hooks on each corner for hanging baskets and trellis on the sides and back.

There you have it. Some ways to add height to any garden and much easier than moving.

Bushes and trees can also create the desired height. I have Mock Orange, Snowball and Lilac bushes. A couple of Red Maples. Too many bushes and trees though will cause another problem. Too much shade. I happen to like the full sun that my gardens receive. The ideas mentioned above create height without causing too much shade.

Hopefully some of the above ideas will inspire a few readers. They look good, are easy on the pocketbook, and will give you an excuse to buy more plants.

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