In contemporary garden design, vertical gardens offer a smart, space saving way to bring lush greenery into even the most compact areas. At Tim Davies Landscaping, we regularly integrate green walls, climbing plants, and trellis structures into our projects across Perth, maximising planting opportunities, softening built form, and creating privacy while enhancing the overall aesthetic of each outdoor space.
Whether it’s greening a boundary wall, transforming a courtyard, or elevating an outdoor entertaining area, trellis structure allow us to train climbing plants in elegant, structured ways that deliver both visual impact and functional benefits. If you’re exploring vertical garden ideas or looking to introduce living greenery to a tight site, here’s how we use trellis systems and climbing plant selections to achieve exceptional landscape design results.
1. Benefits of Vertical Gardens
A well designed vertical garden or green wall offers far more than aesthetic appeal. These systems bring texture, depth, and life to built environments, transforming blank walls and fences into living features. Beyond the visual impact, climbing plants provide natural insulation, improving thermal comfort and reducing reflected heat in outdoor spaces, especially valuable in Perth’s hot climate.
By maximising vertical surfaces, vertical gardens are ideal for small courtyards, narrow side passages, and high-density developments, allowing you to enjoy abundant greenery without sacrificing ground space. They can also help increase biodiversity, filter the air, and reduce noise, creating a more comfortable and sustainable landscape overall.
2. Trellis Structures: A Sleek Support Solution
We commonly install stainless steel trellis wire systems, a minimalist and durable option for supporting climbing plants. These systems are highly versatile and allow us to create custom layouts, from grid patterns to more sculptural arrangements depending on the space and aesthetic goals.
Key advantages include:
• Discreet appearance – the wires blend into the background as plants establish
• Long-lasting materials – marine-grade stainless steel resists corrosion, ideal for coastal WA sites
• Customisable design – tailored to your wall surface, plant type, council compliance and desired growth pattern
Installed properly, these trellis systems create a low profile framework that disappears visually as greenery fills in.
3. Choosing the Right Wall or Structure
Vertical gardens are incredibly adaptable, but the surface behind them matters. We commonly install wire systems on:
• Masonry walls (brick, rendered, or stone)
• Fences or boundary walls
• Freestanding steel or timber posts
• Facades of buildings or garages
• Custom-built structures like pergolas or arbours
• Overhead beam structures anchored to the ground
We ensure the structural integrity of the surface before installation, and consider long-term maintenance access, sun exposure, and proximity to reticulation.
4. Planting for Vertical Success
Vertical planting isn’t one-size-fits-all. The right climbing plant will depend on light conditions, wall orientation, and the style of the space. At TDL, we select plant varieties that are well-suited to Perth’s climate and the specific design intent of the garden.
Some of our go-to climbers include:
• Star Jasmine – evergreen, fragrant, and fast to establish.
• Stephanotis – evergreen tropical climber with thick glossy leaves best used in sheltered areas.
• Ficus pumila – ideal for full coverage over masonry, creates a dense green finish.
• Wisteria – hardy and fast growing deciduous plant, providing purple or white flowers.
• Hibbertia Scandens – evergreen climber with lance shaped leaves and yellow flowers.
• Bougainvillea – a thorny ornamental evergreen vine that produces cluster of flowers for a more romantic or Mediterranean feel.
• Ornamental Grapes deciduous relatively fast-growing vine, giving vibrant green leaves in spring and summer and deep orange and red tones in autumn.
• Cissus Ellen Danica – fast growing and bearing many shiny dark green toothed oak-shaped leaves, green flowers and black fruit.
5. Function Meets Form
Beyond aesthetics, vertical string wire systems offer highly practical benefits:
• Natural insulation – climbing plants can help cool building facades and shaded areas
• Noise buffering – foliage helps absorb sound in tight urban spaces
• Privacy screening – ideal for overlooked courtyards or pool zones
• Wind and sun protection – especially when combined with pergolas or other shade structures
• Biodiversity support – climbing plants attract birds, bees, and beneficial insects
A well-planned vertical garden does more than look good—it works hard in the background to enhance the liveability of your outdoor space.
6. Maintenance & Irrigation Considerations
Vertical gardens can be surprisingly low maintenance when planned well. We design our systems with easy access for pruning and ensure irrigation is installed from day one, usually a dripline system. We also consider long-term access for upkeep, ensuring you can keep your green wall looking healthy and tidy with minimal effort.
7. Integrating Vertical Gardens Into the Landscape
At TDL, we don’t treat vertical gardens as stand-alone elements, they’re carefully integrated into the broader landscape plan. We use them to:
• Define spaces in open-plan gardens
• Soften retaining walls or built structures
• Frame outdoor entertaining areas
• Add height and texture to planting schemes
• Seamlessly blend the natural with the architectural
Our goal is always to create cohesion between hardscaping, planting, and built form, so the vertical garden feels intentional and connected.
Why Vertical Gardening is a Smart Design Choice
Trellis wire systems and wall gardens are more than a visual feature, they’re a technique we use to solve spatial and structural challenges while adding living beauty. By going vertical, we can bring gardens into places where traditional planting won’t work, or enhance areas that feel flat, exposed, or underutilised. For clients looking to soften their outdoor spaces, increase privacy, or simply add a layer of green sophistication, vertical gardens are one of the most effective and enduring solutions we offer.
Ready to bring your walls to life?
Contact Tim Davies Landscaping to discover how vertical gardens, climbing plants, and green wall systems can transform your outdoor space. Our expert team will design a custom landscape solution that combines style, structure, and sustainability, perfectly suited to Perth’s climate and your way of living.
