Gardening folk: We have a west facing house which gets frightfully hot in summer. As well as increasing insulation in walls etc, I am thinking of installing a strong metal trellis and growing jasmine all over both stories of that wall. We can trim it in autumn to let the light in and grow it over spring and summer to add another layer of insulation.
Is there a flaw in my plan or gotchas to watch out for?
#GardeningAU #gardening
@perkinsy you could use a deciduous vine, like an ornamental grape, as it'll save you trimming for the colder months
This sounds like a great idea. If your wall is very hot because of full sun, the metal trellis may get too hot for the stems to curl around if it's a dark colour.
I haven't grown jasmine on a wall, but I understand that it has strong, heavy stems. If your wall has indentations (brick with recessed mortar or vertical wooden boards that don't quite touch, etc.), watch out that the stems don't get caught in the gaps; they can cause damage over time as they grow thicker.
@perkinsy I had a wooden fence that was covered by pink jasmines in northern California. It grew from just one small plant. I loved it, but then we moved to where jasmine won't thrive... The potential issue would be overgrowth (trimming might require power tools!), bees if you have an issue with them, and the strong scent again if you have an issue with it. What if you used a plant that produced fruit, like kiwis or passionfruit, as an added benefit? And good luck!
In a milder climate, but I love vines outside windows that get too hot in summer.
Annual vines are really nice because the trimming is easy. Hops are the classic where I am, runner beans not bad. I daydream about having standoffs to hang hop-strings down the sun side of my house. With a permanent loop of wire to haul replaceable strings up above my windows, even.
Haven’t done it though, just window boxes and eyebolts I can reach directly.
M@perkinsy@aus.social
@perkinsy we had a similar problem on our back deck and had a trellis made out of rebar built and planted an ornamental vine to grow over it. as well as looking good, it provides shade in summer, and being deciduous naturally lets more light and late afternoon sun in in winter. Needs trimming two or three times a year
@perkinsy the one thing that occurs to me is the metal. It might be a good idea to find something coated in white material, though I would guess that might slightly defeat what you have in mind.
I'd be worried that the heat-retaining qualities of metal would cook anything trying to grow up it. And certain plants can't grow up material that is so smooth, which might be a consideration. Other than that, I don't know whether Jasmine is deciduous where you live, but that's another thing you may already have considered.
@perkinsy Depending on the plant, guy wires or wooden climbing structure like trellis may be most suitable.
Agree with thread that deciduous is the way forward. If you have money etc. I'd also consider a pergola for the ground floor, growing the deciduous plants over that. That will provide more protection from heat incl solar gain and a cooler seating area in summer
Jul 5, 2026, 5:07 AM@perkinsy Why not a species that loose its leaves in autumn, so that you don’t have to trim it?
@nojhan Good point!