Repurpose An Old Screen Door For The Perfect DIY Garden Trellis

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There are all kinds of household items that can be repurposed in your garden. For example, you can reimagine sturdy wooden drawers as planter boxes or turn mattress springs into a trellis for vining plants such as squash, cucumbers, grapes, and morning glories. Plenty of other objects can be transformed into trellises, too. An old screen door is one of them. The process involves swapping the screen for a material that's easier for your plants to climb.

Screen doors make terrific trellises because they can tolerate some rain and sunshine. In addition to being durable, they're an ideal size for many raised beds yet versatile enough for a range of in-ground gardens. This style of trellis works well for growing clematis in a flower bed or sugar snap peas in a vegetable patch. Consider the growth habits of your climbing plants when deciding what to use for your screen replacement. If you'd like your trellis to support pole beans, which prefer to climb upward rather than meandering sideways, you could attach long pieces of wire to the top and bottom of the part of the frame that held the screen. String and twine will also suffice, but they'll wear out sooner.

Also account for the material of the door frame. Chicken wire is an easy-to-install option if you're working with a wooden frame. Just affix it to the frame with heavy-duty staples. A tool like the Arrow 5700 PowerShot 2-in-1 staple and nail gun can make this task a breeze. You could also use this tool to add wooden feet to your trellis. This feature lets the trellis stand upright without leaning against another structure.

DIY garden trellises present lots of opportunities to flex your creative muscles. Yearning for a pop of color in your garden? Paint your screen-door frame a vibrant hue that adds character and charm to the space. If the frame is made of wood, sand it first to help the paint stick and then seal it to prevent water damage after the paint dries. A clear waterproofer such as Thompson's WaterSeal should fit the bill. Have a metal door frame instead? Consider coating it with a product that deters rust. Guardsman 461800 outdoor metal protector is one of many options.

You could also combine style and function when creating your trellis. If your plants don't need every square inch of a chicken-wire climbing space, hang other objects in the unused areas. For example, attach hooks or clips to the wire and use them to hold hand-painted signs, miniature flags, or crow-repelling pinwheels. You could even mount small potted plants on your trellis if you trade the door's screen for super-strong fencing material such as wire cloth. YouTuber @KarlCalica has a short video featuring this type of trellis (as shown above), which you could use for inspiration. Want to illuminate your garden for a party or simply for ambiance? Weave fairy lights into open spaces on your trellis. If you go this route, choose lights that are designed to withstand harsh weather and other outdoor challenges. Suddus battery-operated LED twinkle string lights are made for outside areas and come with a handy remote control.