Don't Throw Away Your Old Patio Umbrella, Turn It Into A Garden Trellis Instead

Patio umbrellas are a welcome sight when trying to enjoy the outdoors on a hot, sunny day. What's not so great about them is they eventually break. If the canopy tears or the umbrella no longer functions properly after storm damage, your first thought may be to put it out on the curb on trash day. Hold that thought: Don't throw it away. Instead you can repurpose an old patio umbrella in the garden as a trellis, even if the entire canopy has fallen apart.

When partially opened, the structural portions of the umbrella, including the poles and ribs, are shaped like a tipi-style trellis. This conical shape, whether metal or wood, offers plenty of room for climbing plants to cling to as they grow upwards. Peas and pole beans, cucumbers, and some types of squash all need a trellis or similar support system to help the plants grow to their fullest potential. Flowering vines also look lovely climbing this type of trellis. 

If you have a large garden and need several trellises, you may be able to find other broken patio umbrellas for free through your local Buy Nothing group. It's best to add an umbrella trellis early in the season, so new plants can be spaced around the spokes of the umbrella as you introduce them to the garden. Also, if you come across a broken tent, old tent poles make great trellises as well. You can also use smaller umbrellas in good shape in the garden, too, by repurposing them as plant parasols for your shade-loving plants. 

To transform that broken patio umbrella into a trellis, remove the entire fabric canopy. Some canopies are designed to be removable; twist off the finial atop the pole, then check the ends of the ribs on the outside edge of the canopy. In some cases, these support ribs are kept in place by pockets or caps on the fabric, so it's simply a matter of lifting them out of the pockets and sliding the entire canopy off the pole. If the fabric is more permanently secured to the pole, use scissors or a utility knife to cut it away, bit by bit. Save the pieces for another project, such as a grill cover, if desired. Center poles are often two pieces designed to come apart. If it's one solid piece, cut it roughly in half, keeping it long enough so that the ring holding the ribs together in the center won't fall off the pole. 

Install the patio umbrella trellis in the garden spot designated for climbing plants. Open the structure partway, with the center pole vertical, then pound the center pole into the ground so it stays put. Push each rib or spoke end into the ground as well; this process may be easier with a little help from a friend. Once the entire structure feels secure and balanced, plant your veggies or flowering vines in a circle around it. If desired, tie some garden twine around the structure horizontally, making parallel, ladder-style rungs every eight inches or so. This will give small vines a place to cling to for added strength. Help young vines by tying loose loops around them to secure them to the horizontal twine rungs. A zip-tie loop is another hack to help climbing plants attach to the trellis.