Variety in Vertical Gardening

You can add a whole new dimension to your yard by gardening up, creating vertical elements that also add interesting focal points and more opportunities for color.

Urban and suburban lots often face problems that vertical gardening can help minimize. Flat, rectangular yards joined by different styles of fences can be improved with vertical visual accents. Close quarters with neighbors can also be remedied by planting living screens.

There are endless ways you can use vertical space in your garden:

• An arbor can serve as a colorful, overhead "welcome mat" to people entering your garden. Arbors define borders and make sturdy trellises for many climbing plants such as wisteria and roses. Larger arbors that cover patio or picnic areas can support grape or wisteria vines, as well as hanging baskets.

• Tall pyramids and trellises make a striking accent in beds of low-growing plants.

• Tall-growing plants such as ornamental grasses can break up the straight, horizontal line created by a fence, and the fences themselves can support climbing vines. Columnar apple trees don't take up a lot of space and produce a delicious crop of apples in the fall as well.

• Existing walls of sheds, barns or garages provide extra growing space. A trellis of flowers placed in front of the walls can camouflage these structures and help blend them into the garden.

• Hanging baskets can be hung from roof overhangs, light posts, and even low tree branches.

Once you've decided on the ways you'll add vertical space to your garden, find plants that will grow accordingly. Trellises, arbors, walls and fences support climbing plants, and hanging baskets are ideal for plants that cascade.

The following annual vines climb up vertical structures.

• Black-eyed Susan grows quickly in full sun and reaches a height of 10 to 12 feet. It can be started from seed, but in colder regions start seeds indoors for a jump on the growing season.

• Morning glory is dependable and fast growing. Flowers appear in mid-summer and are available in many colors.

• Cardinal climber is a relative of morning glory. It grows rapidly and has lacy foliage and lots of dainty, red flowers.

• Moonflowers offer large white blooms that open in late afternoon. These nighttime illuminators also fill the air with a heady fragrance.

• Hyacinth bean vine produces lavender-pink flowers and neon-purple pods. A versatile plant, it can also be used in hanging baskets.

Other climbers:

Clematis prefers full sun, but likes to have cool roots. Place clematis among other plants that will shade its roots, or apply a think layer of mulch. As the shoots grow, wrap them around a vertical structure or tie them to the structure with cotton strings.

Climbing roses give a garden a feeling of stability with their stunning blooms and tall vines. These plants don't have tendrils to help them climb. You will occasionally need to tie the canes to a support structure.

Cascading plants are ideal for hanging baskets. Here are some options:

• New Guinea impatiens are available in a variety of colors, bloom from late spring to mid fall and do well in full or part sun.
• Wave petunias are extremely hardy and require little maintenance. They thrive in full sun and attract hummingbirds.
• Trailing vinca vines hang delicately and grow quickly over pot edges.
• Ivy geraniums also have a trailing habit.

To add vertical elements in areas that you don't necessarily want to alter with structures, try ornamental grasses. They range in height from six inches to 14 feet or more. Use them as accent plants, groundcovers, screens, or border edgings. Their foliage ranges in color and creates a soothing focal point. They sway in the wind on cold winter days, adding a seasonal dimension to your garden, too.

Japanese silver grass is a popular species of ornamental grass. Plant it in spring or early summer. When fully grown, it reaches a height of seven feet, with a fluffy plume that blooms in late summer. You can cut it back in late winter or early spring before the new growth begins.

For more ideas, go to your local nursery. Experiment with structures and plants in whatever space you have. With a little imagination and ingenuity, you'll be amazed at how much vertical gardening you can do.