Vertical structure is one of the most common elements missing from Australian home gardens. Flat ground-level planting creates a garden that looks finished when standing but rarely has any height, drama or sense of enclosure. A well-placed arch or trellis changes this immediately — it frames a view, supports plants that can otherwise only be kept as ground-level shrubs and creates a sense of pathway and destination within the garden.

Rose arches are the classic application — a steel or timber arch spanning a garden path, supporting climbing roses that flower overhead during spring and summer. The same structure works equally well with wisteria, jasmine, star jasmine (trachelospermum, common in Australian gardens for its heat and drought tolerance), climbing hydrangea and a wide range of annual climbers. The arch structure needs to be robust enough to support the weight of a mature plant — wisteria can be surprisingly heavy — and anchored securely enough to withstand the pressure of windload on a fully-clothed structure.

Wall trellises serve the same plant-support function against a fence or wall. They're particularly useful in Australian garden designs where a timber fence makes the perfect backdrop for a climbing plant that adds greenery and softens the hard line of the boundary. Powder-coated steel trellises are the most durable in Australian conditions; natural timber weathers but requires maintenance.

Pergola kits provide the largest scale of vertical garden structure — a freestanding or wall-attached framework that creates a defined outdoor room, supports climbing plants overhead and provides shade. In Australian gardens, a pergola covered with a deciduous climber (like wisteria or ornamental grape) provides shade in summer and opens up to allow winter sun when the plant loses its leaves.

Browse our garden arch and trellis range online with fast delivery across Melbourne and Australia.