Why Scroll Trellis Has No Scrolls ~ And Why That’s a Good Thing

By Diane & Larry | Scroll Trellis Garden Journal

People sometimes assume from our name that Scroll Trellis is a decorative metal trellis with scrollwork.

It isn't.

The name actually came from something much more practical: our trellis rolls up.

Our trellis is 9 feet tall, but the flexible mesh can be rolled into a compact package for shipping. When it's time to install it, you unroll the mesh and attach it to the brackets.

That's the “scroll” in Scroll Trellis.

The flexibility isn't just about shipping

Being able to roll the trellis is convenient, but flexibility is also part of what makes the design work in places where we wanted to grow climbing plants.

Traditional trellises tend to be rigid and fairly wide. That isn't much help when the place you want a clematis to grow is a 4-inch-wide deck post, a mailbox post or a downspout.

So instead of starting with what a traditional trellis looks like, we started with the space.

The result is a trellis that's 9 feet tall but only 4 inches wide.

Then there was the plant

A trellis can fit the space perfectly and still not be a very good trellis if the plant can't grab it.

Clematis doesn't climb by wrapping its whole vine around a support. It uses its leaf stems — called petioles — to reach out and wrap around something small enough to hold.

That's one reason our mesh has ½-inch openings. It gives those leaf stems lots of places to grab as the plant grows.

We've watched this happen in our own gardens, and it's one of those details that's easy to miss until you look closely.

So, no scrollwork

The “scroll” in our name isn't decorative ironwork. It's simply what the trellis does.

It rolls up.

That turned out to solve a shipping problem. The narrow design solved a space problem. And the mesh gives climbing plants something they can actually hold onto.

Sometimes the simplest answer really is the story behind the name.

Designed by engineers. Inspired by plant biology. Proven in real gardens.

Growing on a post, wall or other flat surface?
→ Shop the Narrow Trellis for Posts

Growing on a downspout?
→ Shop the Downspout Trellis