Shading wall with trellised vines REALLY WORKS!

[applestar]

So you may remember seeing the photo of my [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=135138#135138]New Tomato Garden[/url] that I built with the idea that the tall tomato trellis and the string trellis will support the tomatoes as well as pole beans, Luffa, and Morning Glory to shade the SW side of the Family Room wall:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image6916.jpg[/img]

The vines have all reached the top of the tallest trellis:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7561.jpg[/img]
There are even some unidentified squash or gourd that have joined the frenzied climb:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7490.jpg[/img]
Here's another view of the Tomato Jungle
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7621.jpg[/img]

... and inside in the Family Room, we are definitely cooler. Last year, I could FEEL the heat radiating from that wall.
-- Definitely recommended.

[ronbre]

what a great idea for you to do that..I have planted small trees in front of our house of species that die down to the ground in our climate and then grow quickly to shade our windows in the heat of summer..two in front of my south living room windows are hibiscus and purple leaf smoke tree..in most climates these don't die down..but here they do..one thing about the purple leaf smoke, is that the leaves are exactly the same color as my living room curtains so it is also beautiful..

in front of my south bedroom windows I have a tall growing grass called calamagrostis..that dies to ground in wnter..I also have some dwarf fruit trees (3 peach, one almond and one fruit cocktail as well as some lilacs) that lose their leaves in winter but bring shade to the windows in the summer.

I have a vine covered trellis by the south bathroom window that is now covered with woodbine and clematis that turns blaze red in fall..beautiful.

I would LOVE to have more vines shading the house in the summer too..someday..we'll see..I have a beautiful midevil looking trellis (2 actually) but one I want to move..and I'm thinking of moving it in front of one of the south windows (we have 6 picture windows facing south and one west which also gets a lot of sun but that has privit hedges (untrimmed) in front of it in the summer.

[applestar]

[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7729.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7742.jpg[/img]

No flowers on the Luffa yet, but
The tomatoes are starting to color up:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7755.jpg[/img]
Purple Podded beans are starting to flower and pod:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7756.jpg[/img]
And the volunteer cucurbit has a fruit:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7759.jpg[/img]
Here's the view from INSIDE the swallowed up window:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7698.jpg[/img]

Interestingly, the window reflects the sun to supply some direct sunlight to the interior....

[rainbowgardener]

Love it, beautiful pics.

The window I am looking at as I type this is totally covered by the trumpet creeper vine that is eating our house and deck. It keeps the office cool with filtered green light and means that occasionally hummingbirds come to feed right in front of my eyes. (I love the trumpet creeper and keep resisting just cutting it all down, but I do wish it weren't quite so RAMPANT!)

We have a little bathroom with a window that faces onto the deck. Lets a ton of hot sun in in the AM and early afternoon and means that you have to keep the window closed for privacy, not so good in our un-A/C house. So I put a planter on the deck railing (one of those that straddles the railing) and put a small trellis in the planter and covered the trellis with annual vines. Voila, bathroom is cooler and you can open the window and still have privacy.

[applestar]

Sounds great! I like growing hummingbird-attracting flowers around windows too. They're such early visitors -- they're here by sunup, and I've been surprised more than one to come face-to-face with them while opening curtains and blinds.

Yep. I'm definitely doing this again next year. Planning to rotate crops by growing peas, tall-growing corn (Hoping noon to sunset is enough sun exposure.... I'll be growing more corn elsewhere too. If not, what else should I grow here?), beans on the trellis, and garlic along the path.

Here are photos from a few days ago. We're expecting freezing temps tonight, so these are likely the last from this year. Fantastic tomato production over the season, and I harvested the last of the green tomatoes and a few colored tomatoes yesterday. Also harvested 3 gourdkins (pumpkin X gourd), 3 melons and 2 watermelons as well as steady supply of purple podded beans from the trellis over the summer-fall season

[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image8228.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image8229.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image8232.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image8230.jpg[/img]

The last photo is Luffa which finally started to flower in honest just a few days ago. Yesterday, I saw an open female flower along the garage roof gutter. So they did not have enough time to grow mature fruits, but I planted out the started seedlings very early -- I'm pretty sure it was close to last average frost date or maybe a week later. I'll have to come up with a better method if I want Luffa to harvest.