An arched arbor is a beautiful addition to a wedding or other outdoor event. It is especially attractive if it is decorated. If you have a plain, bare arbor that you want to dress up for the occasion, or if it is weathered or made of an ugly material, you can hide it by covering it with dried vines.
Materials Needed for Covering an Arbor with Dried Vines
- Large quantity of fresh or dried vines
- Natural-fiber garden twine
- Ladder
Weaving Vines to Cover an Arbor
- Cut a large quantify of fresh vines like grapevines or other pliable vegetation such as willow branches. Cut the pieces so they are as long as possible. If you can’t find fresh vines, use dried vine wreaths or other shapes from the craft center. Soak the dried vines in water for several hours until they are flexible enough to work with.
- Tie the end of a long vine at the bottom of one of the arbor posts with natural fiber twine. Wrap it around the post in a close spiral all the way up. If the vine ends before you reach the top, tie the end of a second vine to the post, overlapping the ends a few inches. When you reach the top, you need to have enough free vine to form an arch to the post on the opposite side.
- Repeat tying and winding more vines around each of the posts until you are satisfied with the way it looks. Overlap the spiraling vines. If your arbor has latticework or crosspieces between the posts, weave more vines around and through the structure from the bottom up to make it very dense.
- Climb a ladder to work with the top vines. Tie the free end of one vine to the opposite post to form an arch over the garden pathway, or continue the wrapping around the arbor arch itself. Repeat for as many vines as you have that are long enough.
- Twist the shorter vines around the arched ones, weaving them in and out of each other. Weave in additional vines to make the canopy as dense as possible. The canopy should blend well into the weaving on the posts.
Enhancing an Arbor Covered in Dried Vines
The vines become rigid when they dry. They will shrink slightly and become firmly attached to the foundation arch structure. Use the covered arch as a base for hanging flowers, crepe paper, tulle or other decorations. In addition, the dried vines weather well so you can use them as a trellis for climbing plants.
Karren Tolliver - Karren Doll Tolliver is from the Midwest USA and received a BA in English from Mississippi University for Women in 1984. Writing since she ...
