I have not had much luck with vegetable gardening. Mostly because I’m lazy and don’t end up weeding my vegetable garden, then the weeds overtake everything and choke out whatever vegetables may have come up, and I have gotten discouraged. My husband Tony has always wanted a vegetable garden, so this year I’m going to give it another try. But instead of the typical garden that we’ve tried in the past, this year I want to do a vertical garden.

What are the benefits of a vertical vegetable garden?

If you are short on space, vertical gardens take up much less ground space than a regular garden. This is great too if you don’t like weeding. The vines are kept off the ground and the vegetables hang off the vine, giving them more air circulation and less chance of getting dirty or developing a fungus.

What kinds of plants are best for a vertical garden?

Any vine type flower or vegetable are best to use in a vertical garden. This year I chose to do pole beans, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, zucchini squash, and spaghetti squash.  I also bought some nasturtium, which is a climbing annual vine with orange and yellow flowers.

11 vertical garden ideas

I came across a few categories of vertical garden ideas – these include trellis or arbor, vertical container gardening, or privacy wall. I am planning to build a vegetable arbor because I have enough space on my property, but I came up with 11 great ideas that you could use for your garden.

1. Trellis and arbor vertical gardens

Wooden garden arch

Danielle shows how to make a wooden garden arch. She used the arch for her roses, but this project could also be used for vegetables. The best part, it the materials cost less than $50!

Wood ladder trellis

This is such a great idea for an old ladder! Danielle used this ladder for cucumbers, but a ladder could be used for any climbing vegetable or vine flower.

DIY pipe trellis

I love this budget friendly option to create a vertical garden trellis using plastic pipe. Casey used copper spray paint to make it look like a copper pipe trellis. Genius!

Vegetable garden arbor

My favorite is this vegetable garden arbor from Remodelaholic.  Of all the ideas I found, I like this one the best and I think something like this will be best for my space.

2. Privacy Screens

Privacy screen with planters

Lattice is a great way to create privacy, but also create a space for growing vines.

Vertical garden wall

Shannon from Home Made Lovely shows how to make a vertical garden wall using cedar planks and posts, and hex wire netting.

Privacy fence with planter

This fence provides privacy, but it also a great way to add some height and interest to the garden space.

3. Vertical container gardens

Flower pot trellis

Stacked herb garden

I would love to do an herb garden! This is a great tutorial to make a stacked herb garden from clay pots.

Staircase plant stand

A staircase plant stands as visual height to a garden, and can be used either inside or outside.

Vertical garden with drip system

This vertical garden with a drip system is a perfect idea for a small backyard space saver.

Have you ever tried vertical gardening? Which of these ideas is your favorite?