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My coastal garden arbor has lived a few lives already. I originally planted birdhouse gourds, letting them climb and spill over the trellis in the most charming, slightly unruly way.
Then well-meaning neighbors gifted me jasmine, and I planted it nearby without fully understanding what I was getting into. The jasmine loved our coastal air a little too much and quickly took over the entire arbor, smothering everything in sight. As beautiful as it was, it became completely unmanageable and we had to prune it several times a summer just to be able to walk through it! So this season, the jasmine is gone and the arbor has been reset.
I’m going back to birdhouse gourds, which feel more playful, intentional, and better suited to how I actually garden. There’s something satisfying about returning to what worked the first time. If you’re dreaming of a vine-covered arbor, I’ve linked a similar one along with the gourd seeds below.
