Moving the Wisteria Arbor: Now Renamed the Grape Arbor and a New Grandbaby

The farm is coming along mighty nicely! It helps me so much that Mr. Fix-it is on furlough and has been able to do some real work on the farm; specifically in the orchard area. Due to the shortfalls in the government budget Mr. Fix-it's job has not been funded so he has been home all the time and it is a joy! Our most recent project was taking down the wisteria arbor and moving it to the orchard area to now become a grape arbor. The results of several days work (in the rain I might add) are pictured above. I think it was worth it what do you think?

This picture and the one above are looking south. Our huge field is oriented basically west to east with a slight slope to the north. In order to maximize sun and air flow I oriented the orchard on a north/south axis. The hill you see slopes slightly to the north which is toward me (the picture taker) and our pond. We are looking south in the picture. Orientation of fruit and vegetable producing gardens is a very important thing so that is why I am trying to explain my reasoning for how I oriented my area. I really did not want rows downhill toward the pond due to erosion but this orientation simply made the best sense to me. I have seeded the hillside and will establish the beds with mulch very soon so erosion is not really a big problem. I do have to be careful about any chemicals I put on this field though since all runoff does go directly into our pond. Rows on a east/west axis would have helped to slow down water run off a bit but then again the lower plants would be very sun challenged. I simply liked the orientation this way.

The disturbed soil is where Mr. Fix-it box bladed the turf so that I can easily turn over the beds with my shovel. Once all of the soil is turned over and amended (organic material such as cottonseed meal and greensand) I will then begin planting and mulching and establishing the beds. The plants and fruits are all waiting at Tiger Gardens 1 and are really looking forward to being able to stretch out-as is the gardener!

You can clearly see three beds in this picture. The first bed is under the grape arbor. I will plant two muscadine type grapes on the second and fourth poles with the plants planted on the south side of the 6"x 6"s. The cultivars are 'Cowart' and 'Dixie'. Both of these muscadine grapes are recommended for the south and I am hoping with my research that I will not have to spray these grapes in order for them to be productive. Both grape cultivars are self fertile but by planting two different varieties I increase the chances of good pollination of these grapes. Muscadine grapes need 20' of trellis per grape vine. The grape arbor is about 35'; which will mean each grape will have about 17.5' of trellis. It should be enough for them depending on my pruning techniques. Ideally each grape will cover the top of the trellis within a few years. I suspect that will happen quite rapidly and before I know it I will be posting a picture of the mature grapes! 

The next bed is a flex bed. I have not decided what I will plant in this bed. It will be flowers in the form of perennials or bulbs, or it will be a collection of hydrangeas. I just haven't decided yet but whatever I plant there will be fairly low growing (under 4-5') because I don't want the grape arbor or blackberry/raspberry trellis crowded. 

The third newly dug bed has four fence poles placed in it spaced 16' on center. This area will be the blackberry and raspberry patch. I have a ton of 'Canby' raspberries in my current garden as well as thornless blackberries that are dying to get out of their crowded accommodations into the new 48' long bed. I have not installed the trellis system yet but it will be made of cabling that will be threaded through the fence poles. The trellis will be permanent as are the fence poles since they are all concreted into place.


Here is the view looking north. If you peer closely you will see the pond way down in the woods. It is the background between the cleared tree trunks. Mr. Fix-it and I are working so hard on doing so much that we find we only get a little bit done at a time. The pond has not been a big priority but we are slowly cutting a path down to it and clearing the undergrowth away from the water so we can see the pond and have some room to enjoy it. The grape arbor points to the path entryway down to the pond. This is where Mr. Fix-it likes to spend his time when he cannot help me. On this day Mr. Fix-it caught seven little fish (bluegill--thanks Skeeter!). Our pond has been fished out it seems, but we hope to restock it this fall and next spring.

A longer shot looking down the rows. The raspberry/blackberry patch is not done yet. I still need to turn the soil then install the trellis wire. More on it later. The grape arbor is complete but we have not planted the grapes yet. We do have both plants and will soon plant them out. The little tree to the right of the grape arbor is one of our three pears. We planted a 'Moonglow', 'Bartlett', and 'Kieffer' pear tree about a month ago. We purchased them at Rural King when they had their big sale and got a pretty good deal on them ($10 per tree). These cultivars will work with pollinating each other and in a few years we hope to get some pears from the trees. More on the fruit trees later. So far since the house is not built we really can only play on the land where construction is not anticipated to be. The orchard is a big part of it so we are really focusing on it.

To get to this point we had to spend a few days pulling down the wisteria arbor from Tiger Gardens I. The original arbor was designed primarily as a privacy screen from the adjacent property owners. As a bonus it supported two wisteria vines and a 'Dropmore' honeysuckle vine. The whole thing worked very well for many years. Once that neighbor moved I really did not need the privacy as much and I had already cut down the wisteria (two years ago but it is STILL coming back to this day) so it was time for the wisteria arbor to turn into a grape arbor. A ready made one for the new land! We used the tractor to pull the large 6" x 6"s (a tough job since they were concreted in) and took the rest of the arbor down using primarily a drill since it was mostly all screwed together. Big kudos go to Mr. Fix-it since he did most of the work because I was out of town this past weekend visiting my daughter and granddaughter in Louisville. 

This past Tuesday Mr. Fix-it and I were able to dig nine holes and install the five 6"x6"s as well as the four fence poles--all in one day! This was a big day as digging deep holes is hard work but we cheated. We purchased a power auger for our tractor and I can't tell you what a lifesaver this auger was for us. Here is Mr. Fix-it (official tractor man) getting ready to drill his first hole. The first hole went quite easily but on the second one we hit some rocks and had a tougher time. The rocks have the capability of causing a shearing of the shear pin on the auger. This happened two times and Mr. Fix-it actually had to leave the site for a few hours to go buy some more shear pins. Once he got the hang of it all though it was smoother sailing.

After the holes are dug you must of course insert the poles, level, then pour in the concrete and water and tamp it all down. We always use fast setting concrete that we pour into our holes dry, then add the water and mix it all real well with a very heavy tamper. That is what Mr. Fix-it is doing on the raspberry/blackberry pole.

Prior to beginning the job we laid everything out near its final location. The arbor was a very well built trellis and held up well on the move. Not only that but when we put it all together again it fit perfectly!

Each of these crossbars and support poles are eight feet on center. There are two crossbars per support pole and each of them is notched to accept the overhead trellis. Once everything is in place it is all screwed together tightly.

I did not take a picture of the wisteria arbor before we took it down but here is the after photograph. We had to level the ground below the arbor because there was a raised bed there. The dwarf nandinas were all dug up and are awaiting transfer to the new garden. The raised planters in the foreground contain about 40 cultivars of bearded irises. Those are slated to make the trip to the land soon too. 

It has been raining a lot here in my area of Tennessee. Not really a lot of rain but a lot of annoyance. Once the ground gets good and saturated on the land (it is not as of right now) we next plan to aerate our back 40 and seed with Kentucky 31 grass seed. There is an erosion problem on the big hill that needs to be fixed before winter and I think the grass seed will help. I may also plant some ditch lilies and Joe Pye weed back there too. We also need to finish clearing by the pond, dig and mulch the beds, move the plants, and establish the wildflower garden. All of this will need to be done by fall. Once the first freeze comes we will move to our driveway area. It is a mess and full of glass and rocks and all kinds of trash. It will take some time to clean it all up but we can't do it now since the poison ivy is so lush and happy and mixed with the trash. In other words it is always something.


On the day we spent digging those nine holes and installing the poles we were gifted with a fourth grandchild. This one is Riley. The other three are: Joshua (6 years), Adella (20 months), Everleigh (4 months), and now Riley. Riley came into the world big and healthy and we are all excited and happy for good things in life like new grandbabies.....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

The Wisteria Arbor

Wisteria arbors seem to be on people's minds judging by the number of searches that come to this blog. Coincidentally this year happens to be a great year for me to update you all on my wisteria arbor. I have posted about it before and if you'd like to see those posts you can search on my sidebar. This year it is different because for the first time in seven years my wisteria bloomed! Hence, a fantastic time for me to talk about my wisteria arbor.


The arbor was built as a privacy wall between my property and the terrible neighbors adjacent property owners we happened to have had the misfortune of living next door to for seven years. It was a miserable time here at Tiger Gardens and I won't go into detail about the issues but just suffice it to say I needed privacy-fast. My solution was to build this 35 long by about 4 foot wide and 8 foot tall barrier between our properties. I tried to build it high because our decks are raised up about 4 feet; which allowed clear view between the decks and persons that may have been on the deck. Not a cool situation when you and your neighbor do not get along. We've all been there at one time or another right? At any rate let me tell you what I went through to get this fabulous arbor/privacy screen which grows some very nice vines on it.





The supports are 6x6 pressure treated timbers 12 feet long. This allowed for 4 feet of timber in the ground and 8 feet out of the ground. The top of these timbers (both sides parallel) were notched. I then mounted and lag bolted 2x6x4 pressure treated wood to these notches. I wound up with a T, with the 6x6 being the tail of the T and the 2x6s between the top of the T. Mr Fix-it rented a bobcat with a large auger bit. He dug two foot wide four feet deep holes. It took both of us to mix the concrete and set the five supports. Once that was done I took 2x4x10 feet or so and notched them out so they would fit into the top notches on the top of the T (the 2x6s). I mounted these in place securing the pieces of wood together tightly with the notches then screwing all together. On top of these 2x4 joining beams I cut 4 foot long 2x4s as the arbor support. These are mounted four feet apart across the length of the 35 foot arbor. This would be the base for the vines I planned to grow on the arbor. The vines are important because once they filled out they gave my arbor/privacy screen some more height. A very important consideration as you'll see below with the big picture from my deck to my neighbor's home (the nice new one). 





Here is a view showing some of the notching and how the arbor is built. Everyone has their own way of building arbors. This arbor was built from a plan in my head. I build things to last and wanted it to be strong. It is custom tailored for my purposes. The key with arbors is to make them appeal to you and to make them safe. Notching is an extra step that wasn't too difficult. It simply required a jigsaw, a chisel, and a hammer. The results are that step above if you can see what I mean when you look closely at the joints in the pictures. 




I have three vines growing on this arbor and the wisteria pictured in the above picture is not one of them. This picture was taken at Nashville Natives Open House on April 30th. (A post will most likely be coming next week). This particular wisteria is a picture of the American native wisteria. It is reputed to be less aggressive than the Chinese version of wisteria. If you must grow wisteria then this is the one I would recommend. It is our native wisteria, Wisteria frutescens. Most likely the cultivar 'Amethyst Falls' though I am not sure. You can find 'Ameythyst Falls' at Home Depot. The bloom is quite different from the Chinese version don't you think?

Back to the vines I grow on this wisteria arbor. Remember there are five pillars or support beams? I have one Chinese wisteria growing at each end of the arbor, and a 'Dropmore' honeysuckle growing on the third beam (the center of the arbor). It has taken six years but two of the three vines have finally met in the middle. They will have to battle it out for dominance because I'm not playing favorites. Normally I would never ever plant a Chinese wisteria, let alone two. But when I built this arbor I was desperate for quick growth and fast coverage and I really-ahem-didn't know any better about wisterias. I do like wisteria but it is not for the weak at heart because it is aggressive. Fortunately I am a pretty good pruner and I tend to keep up on my vine. Not only that but this arbor is on the north side of some oak trees. The oaks shade the wisteria enough to keep it growing at a manageable rate. 


The 'Dropmore' honeysuckle was a gift from my daughter Liz. She had attended a PPSMT meeting with me and received it as a door prize. The door prizes during that particular meeting went to the oldest and youngest members of the audience. Liz happened to be the youngest at that meeting. Even now she comments on how well her honeysuckle is doing. I've included a picture of it at the end of this post. This honeysuckle is not as bad as Hall's honeysuckle but it is still quite aggressive. It does however work fine on my arbor.





Under the arbor we have the Arbor Garden. It is not much of a garden. I used to have a half a dozen mophead hydrangeas growing here. But with the droughts we have suffered the last few years I've decided to move the hydrangeas closer to the house for ease of watering. In their place I've planted dwarf nandina. Nandinas (the dwarf ones) are a wonder plant. They grow in sun or shade, dry or moist soil and almost always look good. I do not like the tall nandinas because they self seed everywhere but that is not a problem with the dwarf ones. I will slowly add wildflowers to this area as well. It is currently undergoing some renovations so it is not looking its best.





Here we have a long view to the arbor. Can you see the PVC arbor to the right? This is the view from my deck looking south. The sidewalk leads to the chainlink gate and to the out front parking area. Remember the arbor is approximately 35 feet long and at its top is probably about nine feet tall. It curves down with the lay of the land and I've also adjusted its placement so as not to hurt the mature oak trees behind it. This arbor is about 10-15 feet from the property line. You must check with local codes when building something like this just to be sure you don't interfere with any easements. In our case 10 feet is the setback. My neighbor had no room to complain. Looking across the top of the arbor toward the house you can't even see the deck over there anymore. The junipers I planted behind this arbor (prior to the arbor being built) have grown in and provided me with an additional barrier. Funny, after I finally got the privacy in hand those people moved. Now I love my neighbor and wouldn't mind seeing her but she and I both agree privacy is nice and she enjoys seeing any bit of my gardens she can. This arbor included.





And here is the 'Dropmore' honeysuckle. It is a lovely orange color that is quite vivid. Robins always nest on top of the wisteria arbor within the honeysuckles arms. One night around midnight I was working on my computer when I heard the robin stir and tweet frantically. I peeked out my window at this arbor and saw a HUGE owl, probably a great horned owl, sitting next to the robins' nest. I checked the nest the next morning and was overjoyed to see all babies were still intact. I scared the owl away when I peeked out of my window I guess and it did not have time for a midnight feast. I was most disappointed because you know I was reaching for my camera to get a shot of it! The owl was magnificent and so quiet I never heard it come or leave the wisteria arbor...


in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Wisteria Arbor

Finally, after nearly seven long years the adjacent property owner has moved. It has been a huge relief and we are very relieved to have new neighbors next door. What do they have to do with the wisteria arbor? I will explain.

Our houses are about 100 feet apart, but there was no privacy and division between the houses. Not a good thing. I have endeavored almost from the first day we moved here to provide a block from this property.

I looked long and hard to find some before pictures but was unsuccessful so I will talk you through the issues. Due to the set up of the adjacent house, their parking area is in their backyard, straight out from my deck. I wanted an evergreen block and a structural block as well. I found some junipers (thanks Barry for taking me to the fields to handpick the ones I wanted) that have worked well. The junipers are the straight and tall evergreens behind the arbor. You can just see the top 5-6 feet of them. They are slowly thickening up here. I am very impressed with this type of juniper. It has done well considering all of the trees are planted in amongst mature oak tree roots and under a large canopy of oak leaves. I am told this is a 'Columnar' juniper. Mr. Fix-it planted three, while I planted the other three. It was not an easy job digging the huge holes under oaks, but ever so worth it. The junipers themselves were 10-11 feet tall with 27" rootballs. VERY heavy and large. We had to roll the trees into the holes. Even at that, help was needed in the form of my oldest son Brian, and his friend Jesse.

I always wanted an arbor and wasn't sure where I would put it. I decided on this area between the two houses because it would provide privacy and I could make it much higher than a standard privacy fence. It would also provide a bit of a physical as well as visual barrier, the structural block I was seeking.

I came up with a workable design I thought would be functional enough to hold vines like wisteria. I purchased the wood (5-6x6x12, 8-2x6x10, several 2x4s, 4-4x8) privacy lattice panels, hunter green oil stain and miscellaneous hardware, then began building. I notched all joints to make the arbor structurally stronger. Mr. Fix-it rented a power auger and dug the post holes and together we 'planted' them. I did the rest. It took a while but I was SO happy when it was done!

Initially I left the lattice panels white and chose to add various accouterments to decorate the glaring white. After a few years the glaring white turned a dirty black with dirt and mildew forming on both sides of the arbor. Since I now have new neighbors, I decided to make a few changes to the arbor. I washed the dirt off and used Fusion plastic spray paint to paint the lattice panels green. I think the new color makes the arbor blend in better with the landscape, but Mr. Fix-it liked it better white. I just couldn't see washing that big thing (35 feet long by about 9 feet tall) every few years. I hope the hunter green color will not show the inevitable dirt. I painted both sides even though I don't ever see the other side of the arbor.

I did have a huge woodpile here next to the chain link, then the junipers then the arbor. I removed the wood pile and planted a few silverberries and four white Crepe Myrtles. The buffer of the shrubs and the arbor should provide both a noise, physical and visual barrier should I ever get such neighbors again. I am truly enjoying my new neighbors. I have lived all over the world in several subdivisions and apartments and never had a problem with neighbors before, but I do realize all people are different and respect that. That is why in my own little way, I chose to build the barrier and block with the arbor in order to provide me my freedom to do my thing.

So that is the story of my wisteria arbor. There may have been better methods of handling this situation (a 20 foot tall electrified concrete wall comes to mind), but I did try to be practical in an extremely difficult situation.

I guess I should talk about the wisteria. I am not a fan of wisteria due to its tendency to take over. This arbor is on the north side of three oak trees. The arbor does get some morning and afternoon sun, but is mainly shaded. I planted a Chinese wisteria on each end of the arbor, and the Dropmore honeysuckle in the middle of the arbor. I am hopeful that someday the two wisterias will meet in the middle and the honeysuckle will hold its own amongst them. So far the honeysuckle is winning and is reaching toward some low hanging oak tree branches. That will have to be rectified soon. The wisterias provide even more height and are doing OK. Last year's freeze almost killed them both. Neither wisteria has ever bloomed and I don't expect them to since they are in shade. That is OK, the foliage is fine with me, especially since it is so full and tends to add height to the arbor. The picture above shows the wisteria on the east side of the arbor. It is tied up all neat and tidy-for now.

in the garden....