September, 1909 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
343 
MN ISES 
By C. C. Grant 
=) HE word trellis is so familiar that it needs 
XS]) no definition—no need to know that it is 
derived from the old English word trelys, 
the French word treille, or the Latin, tri- 
chila. A mention of the word and one’s 
mind pictures a light structure of crossed 
bars of wood or interlacing metal support- 
ing and displaying the foliage and flowers of climbing plants. 
Considering the many uses for trellis work, it is remark- 
able that it is not more generally utilized, but that it is being 
more appreciated one has only to look over recent archi- 
tectural magazines to be convinced. 
The architect who, in his design of country homes, con- 
siders the aid of foliage in direct connection with the house 
must needs employ trellis. It furnishes a simple and inex- 
pensive means of adding interest to blank wall spaces, to 
entrances or to porches. A glance at our illustrations will 
bear out this point, and they tell more plainly than 
words the architectural uses 
for trellis work. 
The structural pieces of 
wood trellis are usually of 
seven-eighths inch by two- 
inch material, the uprights 
secured flat against the 
walls and the cross-pieces 
nailed to them. Usually 
where a wood trellis stands 
free—for example, where it 
acts as a ladder for vines 
climbing to a system of pro- 
jecting rafters—the up- 
rights and crossbars are 
halved together. To have 
the divisions of trellis work 
approximate the size and 
shape of adjacent window- 
pane divisions preserves a 
pleasing scale. A bold but 
attractive architectural use 
of trellis is the covering of 
entire house walls with the 
vertical and horizontal 
strips, omitting, of course, 
the doors and windows. 
There are a number of not- 
able examples of this, but 
the one uppermost in the 
mind of the writer is the 
old Wyck homestead, in 
Germantown, Philadelphia. 
In garden design, espe- 
A simple door trellis 
cially in that of formal gardens, trellis work seems a neces- 
sary part of pergolas, pavilions, tea-houses and other archi- 
tectural accessories. 
Perhaps the most utilitarian form of trellis work is the 
trellis fence—a structure six to eight feet high of our crossed 
bars, in bays between posts. Such a fence, accompanied 
always by the necessary vines, furnishes a pleasing screen 
about service-yard and. stable-yard enclosure, or about any- 
thing where concealment is desirable. 
The city, too, has its uses for trellis work. Great un- 
sightly walls, which usually occur on party lines, have been 
made sightly by an applied covering of small-scale wood 
trellis—perhaps a better word would be lattice—divided 
into interesting panels. ‘This is usually done when the win- 
dows of an adjoining house look out on such a wall. The 
position of this lattice usually precludes the use of vines, 
hence the small scale of the crossing-pieces the better to 
conceal the wall. [his is a method much developed in 
French architecture, but 
several excellent examples 
may be seen along Fifth 
Avenue in New York City. 
A most serviceable and 
picturesque form of trellis 
can be constructed of bam- 
boo bound together at the 
intersections by copper wire. 
The Japanese make exten- 
sive use of bamboo in in- 
teresting trellis forms. 
Metal trellis is generally 
a stock product of interlac- 
ing heavy wire in stiffening 
frames. It is to be had in 
panel or arched forms, and, 
while not very architectural, 
is very practical. It is de- 
sirable where the trellis 
should not count strongly 
in the scheme of things. 
White is perhaps the 
most effective color for 
wood trellis, counting 
strongly among the dark 
masses of foliage. The lat- 
tice used on city house blank 
walls is painted dark green, 
its position requiring an in- 
conspicuous color. The 
effect is not unlike foliage. 
Green or black paint is de- 
sirable on metal trellis. 
