Raspberry Trellis: Winter Silhouette

In the winter snow, the raspberry trellis creates a lovely silhouette and shadow design in the back corner of the garden. Jim posted his directions, sketches, and photos previously on our garden blog. Although I love those pictures of the trellis and the black raspberry canes (and I love the black raspberries on those bushes!), the greenery covers up the trellis. In winter, the trellis stands on its own.

I really appreciate how the raspberry trellis Jim made is so well-suited to the nature of the raspberry plants. The trellis makes it easier to see the first year canes amid the second year canes. Because of that, the trellis makes pruning the raspberries much easer. The trellis also keeps the burgeoning canes off the ground, which yields more fruit (and safer pathways). The coated wires of the trellis gently lift the canes; if a cane goes astray, it’s very easily tucked back into the guide wires. When we are picking berries, we can easily see the undersides of the branches, which is where the berries tend to hide, after all. The raspberry trellis has improved our our black raspberry crop significantly and added beauty to our garden.