A Romantic Tunnel of Vines

Covered Walkway Separates Garden Areas

Cheri Maggiano wanted a classic, romantic covered walkway to visually separate garden areas at her Santa Ana home. Mike Parsons of Saddleback Valley Ornamental Iron built an arbor of bent tubular steel arches (6 ft wide, 5 ft apart) with crossbeams—sandblasted, zinc-coated, painted black urethane for longevity.

Planting Strategy

Maggiano plants two red trumpet vines for every 'Flame' grape. Evergreen trumpet vines keep the arbor covered when grapes drop leaves in winter and prevent grape overload. "The vines are only a year old, but we've already had tons of fruit," she says.

Grapevine Planting Tips

Bare-root vines available in February. European varieties ('Flame') for warm inland; American ('Concord') for coast. Plant in full sun, deep enough that only two top buds are above ground.