Balcony garden inspiration — Clematis trellis

I see a lot of great ideas that are very well implemented — useful and beautiful in the garden and design blogs I read. But rarely do I see a photo that just floors me to the point I have to gasp, "That! I want that!"

This is from Living-in-Penny's Flickr. I first saw it on Apartment Therapy, but it's popped up here and there since.

The clematis growing up the trellis is just perfect. Perfect perfect perfect. I bet it looks charming from every angle — even from inside and down on the street. I can imagine sitting in this lush cocoon, a warm breeze stirring the flowers' scent, the cool leaves shading me while I sip mint tea and read epic fantasy novels...

I have a fond nostalgia for clematis. It was one of my childhood garden favorites — I loved the soft, deep purple blooms and fuzzy yellow center of the flowers that clambered up beside our front porch. And my grandma had several varieties growing over her fence. The different colors and patterns always mesmerized me.

On the practical side, if I replicated this configuration it would help keep sun off the exterior walls and especially the glass doors. That shade might help keep my apartment a bit cooler in summer. Huzzah for passive solar! Don't think that was an issue for Living-in-Penny, since there is another balcony right above her to block the sun. A potential problem is that clematis is a thirsty plant. I'd have to get a nice deep pot — maybe self-watering — to keep it happy.

If I did something like this I would use just bamboo (not copper pipe). It would give vertical oomph — something my garden was lacking last year. And it definitely would not look like this. lol.

But it might look like this.