Flyscreen Door Climber

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Don found some old flyscreen doors at a salvage yard, attached them to a wall and used them as trelliswork to support climbers. The doors would usually cost $30 each from a salvage yard, but a wrought iron trellis of the same size costs around $600! As well as saving money, Don created a stylish, French provincial look on the garage wall.

Attaching the frames

  1. Don removed the flyscreen from the doorframes.
  2. After deciding on the best height to hang the doors, he measured up the entire length of the wall. The door widths were measured and subtracted from the overall length, and the remaining length was divided into thirds. This enabled Don to position the doors in a geometrically pleasing way, with equal gaps on either side and in the middle.
  3. Using a power drill with a masonry bit, eight holes were drilled to attach the doors to the wall. Dynabolts were inserted into the holes, leaving the ends poking out so that the doors could be hung off the bolts. Galvanised washers were used as spacers, so that the plants could be twisted around the frames.
  4. A star jasmine was planted in the garden bed under each trellis. Individual runners were painstakingly separated from each other, then twined in and around the framework. (Note: we used advanced plants for display on television, but smaller plants cost less and don’t need to be untwined.)

Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)

This evergreen climber has glossy, green leaves and vanilla-scented, star-shaped, white flowers. It grows with medium vigour but can be slow growing in the early years. Star jasmine flowers in sun or semi-shade, and grows in most areas of Australia. Another recently introduced variety, T. jasminoides ‘Yellow Star’ has yellow flowers.

Cost and availability

Star jasmine is readily available at most nurseries or garden centres, or ask at your local nursery for a suitable climber for your area. We paid $200 each for 1.5m tall plants in 400mm (16″) pots. Smaller plants in 200mm (8″) pots will cost approximately $16 each.

Flyscreen doors cost around $30 each from second-hand building suppliers. Dynabolts cost around $1.80 each from hardware stores.

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