In mid-summer, as your zinnias and sunflowers grow tall and your vegetable plants become laden with fruits, you may come to the realization that it would have been smart to think about how to prop them up when they were still of a manageable size. But it’s not too late. Cages, stakes, netting, and string can do wonders for a rambunctious garden.  

Flower Supports 

Artfully placed thin stakes and twine will support tall flowers nearly invisibly. Or, you can treat plant supports as a creative part of your flower garden. If you put grow-through supports in place early enough, plants won’t have a chance to flop. Here are a few ways to keep your flower garden looking colorful and tidy late into the season.

Stakes that hold yard signs (left) can be “harvested” after an election and repurposed in the flower garden. Bamboo stakes (center), natural or painted green, support tall flowers unobtrusively. Sturdy metal half-circle supports (right) will last for years, and can be moved around the garden as needed.

Sweet peas or other climbing flowers, such as nasturtiums and black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia) will climb up any structure. This one (left) was easily created using a large branched limb tied at the top.

A time-honored method for growing cutting flowers such as Celosias, Zinnias, and Sunflowers is to make a structure using 4 or more sturdy stakes, and then stretch netting over plants when they’re small, securing it to the stakes about 3 feet off the ground. The netting supports stems so they don’t bend and break as they grow.

Vegetable Supports

Of course you can purchase tomato cages and stakes. If you choose to do this, however, keep in mind that tomatoes, especially heirloom varieties, often grow to 3 feet in diameter and 7 feet or more in height—much larger that most cages on the market can support. Reinforcing cages on two sides with sturdy 6 foot stakes can solve this problem. Or you can build your own supports.

TOMATOES: A 3 x 3 x 8 ft bamboo cage (left) using 8 ft bamboo stakes can accommodate two large tomato plants. Cross bracing (with thinner bamboo poles) on all four sides is essential, and all four corners need to be anchored in the soil with 2 ft rebar poles. Or, you can build your own 2-3 ft diameter cages using concrete reinforcing wire (center). There are cages on the market that are large enough (right). These too need to be anchored in the soil so they don’t topple late in the season.

PEAS AND BEANS:  A-frames constructed with bamboo and covered with netting make a fine support for tall pea and bean vines. Shorter pea vines can grow up a much less substantial structure, such as this airy “fence” made from beech branches.

CUCUMBERS AND SQUASH offer lots of opportunities for creative supports, either found or constructed. Old wooden ladders, discarded bed frames, or inexpensive cattle panels folded in half will give your cucumbers something to wrap their tendrils around. Above, an old metal obelisk (left) and a ladder constructed using scrap wood (right) allow for a bountiful harvest!