DIY Welcome Vine Arcs

Secure, gorgeous steel gates are probably one of the integral parts of a modern home these days. They are primarily keeping thieves off properties however newer designs also add aesthetics to the overall perspective of most homes nowadays. But before they became an important constants in building and securing homes, we were all once introduced to ‘friendly’ vine arcs that welcome visitors and guests. And though these arcs are truly lovely, they have either become too old fashioned or gallant for modern living. Also, there is the undying issues on burglary. This is why most of the youngsters these days will no longer be able to see the old home styles—no gates, no alarms, just homey and welcoming.

Good thing is that I was able to live in those days and I can still remember our old vine ‘welcome’ arcs that stood in place of the gates now. Unfortunately, I was not able to save any photo to show but I can still remember how they are planted and formed. Here is a simple step by step development of a do-it-yourself welcome vine arc:

Step 1: Choosing the vine or type of plant.

-          There are different types of plants, especially vines that can be used in making welcome arcs. The most used is the bougainvillea because of its beautiful flowers. There are plenty to choose from, but pick something that can grow best with your resources.

Step 2: Planting the vine.

-          Planting a vine is very easy because these are plants that are not very picky of planting methods. You can use seeds and sprinkle it on the cultivated soil or cut a sap for grafting purposes. The not so easy part is in developing the arc, which design will rely at this stage too. As a matter of fact, you can only plant the vine when you are already sure as to where and how wide apart you want the 2 columns to appear.

Step 3: Developing an arc structure.

-          Once the vine sprouted or new vine blooms from a grafted plant, it is time to help them grow up by placing structures where they would be able to creep on. Most landscapers use post constructed chicken wire posts for the vine to crawl on, but back in the days, we just used bamboos that will help the vines shooting up to the height where we want the two columns bend and meet to create the arc. This way, it costs less but create the same finished product.

Step 4: Maintenance.

-          Throughout the growing phase, the vines will surely need some guide, cutting and cleaning. We used to loosely roll the vines over each other which makes the arc a lot stronger and well-formed.

The best part of this is when your arc is already fully developed and the flowers start to bloom.