Gardening in raised beds has quite a few benefits and not many drawbacks. With extra durable metal beds becoming more popular and available, the permanence of this type of garden justifies some extra planning and elaboration. Adding arches between your raised beds doesn’t only add visual interest to your garden. It also allows you to grow spectacular vining plants to create vertical lines in the garden.
Choosing the right vines to grow on your raised bed arches depends on your climate and the type of garden you are growing. There are many beautiful ornamental flowering vines that do a wonderful job of pulling together your ornamental raised garden. If you are growing a raised vegetable garden, there are more than a few vining plants that belong there, as well.
Choosing the right vine for your garden is so easy it’s almost difficult. With so many beautiful vines available, how can you choose just one? I would love to show you some of the beautiful vines that I love to grow and some others that I always admire in the gardens of friends. Here are 19 of my favorite vines that are great for growing on your raised bed arches.
Hokus Gherkin Cucumber
Hokus Gherkin Cucumber Seeds
Sun Gold Cherry Tomato
Sun Gold Pole Cherry Tomato Seeds
Mouse Melon Cucamelon
Mouse Melon Cucamelon Seeds
Grapes
Adorn your garden arch with lush grapevines for beauty and function.
Grapevines are wonderful climbing vines that look gorgeous on an arch connecting raised beds. Not only do they have lovely, maple-like foliage, they are functional, too! The type of grape you can grow will depend on your climate. In general, grapevines prefer long growing seasons in warm climates. Zones 7 & 8 have a wide variety available.
Muscadine grapes are native to the United States and perform well in southern gardens. They are drought tolerant and produce large, sweet fruit that is great for making preserves or table wine. Grapevines can be aggressive, popping up more and more in passing years. This makes them a great plant for raised beds, which makes them easier to control. These are low-maintenance plants that really make a statement when their fruit is ripening. The grapes hang down below the arch beautifully.
Sweet Peas
Elevate your raised beds with fragrant, elegant sweet peas.
Sweet peas work very well in raised beds, and they are fabulous climbers. These Mediterranean natives prefer cool weather, so plant them as early in the spring as possible. They will tolerate a light frost and can even handle a few dips around 20°F (-7°C). In Zone 8, plant these in the fall, and they will have an extra long blooming season.
This flowering vine makes a great addition to the raised bed-cutting garden. Sweet pea flowers grow on long, graceful stems that make a great addition to floral arrangements. These plants have a reputation for their beautiful ruffled blooms that smell amazing.
Black Eyed Susan Vine
Grace your trellis with vibrant blooms resembling Black-eyed Susans.
This sweet little vining plant gets its name from the flowers, which strongly resemble Black-eyed Susans. They come in shades of white, yellow, and orange, all with a distinctive black eye in the center. Plant these in the spring and come summer, they will cover your trellis with lush foliage and tons of pretty blooms.
This plant is perennial only in Zones 10 and 11, but it grows beautifully as an annual elsewhere. It is drought-tolerant, but I’ve found that it dries too fast in a hanging container. In a raised bed, it works perfectly. Keep it happy, and this plant will bloom right up to your first frost.
Nasturtium
Enhance gardens with versatile blooms that guard veggies and enrich salads.
Nasturtiums work well in the ornamental garden, and they also have a place in the vegetable garden. They repel some of the insects that would like to make a meal of your prized veggies. They are edible, as well! Both the leaves and the beautiful flowers of this plant can be added to salads or used as garnish. They have a fresh and slightly peppery flavor.
Choose a trailing type if you want them to grow on an arch. Orange is the most common shade, but you’ll find many other colors. You can find varieties with pink, purple, red, and multicolored flowers at most seed retailers. They are only perennial in Zones 10-11, but they do re-seed readily.
Passion Vine
Adorn your arches with vibrant climbers, attracting pollinators and yielding delectable fruit.
Whether you call it a passion vine or passion flower, the passion fruit vine is a lovely plant that climbs an arch or trellis excellently. It can grow up to 20 feet long in a single season and produces some of the most striking flowers around. If you want a plant that makes quick work of covering your arches, this is a perfect candidate.
Passion vine flowers are large and very appealing to pollinators. It is the larval host plant for the Gulf fritillary butterfly, so it is certain to draw that species to your garden. The fruit it produces is small and round. They have a flavor that is often called tart but sweet, and sometimes with a sharpness. They are highly nutritious, as well.
Clematis
Embrace the enduring beauty of clematis, a resilient climber.
Clematis is a striking, flowering vine that has excellent cold tolerance. It is perennial in zones 3-9, so you won’t need to replace this pretty plant every year. You will fall in love with the easy way this vine climbs. Even more, you will adore the big, colorful flowers that bloom repeatedly through the summer and sometimes the fall.
This plant flowers best in full sun, but the roots will appreciate another plant overshadowing them. They will be very happy in a bed with other flowering plants around their feet. Use soft twine or strong to train your vine along your arches. Clematis like moisture, so be sure to keep your plant watered, especially in its first year.
Cucumbers
Elevate your garden with crisp cucumbers, thriving on arches.
Who can resist a crunchy, refreshing cucumber, right off the vine? If you are growing a vegetable garden in your raised beds, cukes are the perfect plant to grow on an arch between beds. These veggies like to grow vertically, and they grow quickly, so your arches won’t be bare for long. Gherkins are a tasty type of cucumber that is commonly used to make pickles. They are easy to grow, seedless, and have a sweetness that larger varieties don’t commonly possess.
Cucumbers love hot weather, and they are big producers with very little care. They like fertilizer, but they won’t hog it all like tomatoes and peppers. Keep the soil moist to keep these plants growing. They look their best when they’re well-hydrated.
Tomatoes
Enhance raised bed gardens with prolific vining tomatoes on arches.
Vining tomatoes are another great option for arches in the raised bed vegetable garden. Many tomato varieties grow on vines that reach up to six feet, and longer. They grow quickly, and they produce beautiful and delicious tomatoes. Make sure to plant your tomatoes in full sun, this is where they will produce the most fruit.
Tomatoes are heavy feeders, so be sure to give them plenty of fertilizer, or they will steal nutrients from their neighbors. A good, regular regimen of fertilizing will keep everything happy in the presence of tomato neighbors. Most vining tomatoes are indeterminate, which means that they will produce fruit all season.
Snap Peas
Elevate your garden with sweet snap peas on charming vines.
While we are on the subject of vegetable vines, snap peas are a great vining veggie for the raised bed garden. Not only are they sweet and delicious, but snap peas have beautiful flowers. As with all members of the pea family, snap peas are nitrogen-fixing. Not only do they go easy on the nutrients, they gather nitrogen and put it back in the soil for next year’s plants.
For extra beautiful color, consider the ‘Sugar Magnolia’ variety of snap peas. The purple flowers are cheerful and fragrant, and the purple-shelled peas add even more interest. These plants grow on vines that can surpass six feet long. Plant them early in the spring. Peas like cool weather.
Hyacinth Bean
Delight in the vigorous beauty of hyacinth bean vines.
Hyacinth bean is one of my favorite climbing vines. Plant these vines once and you will find volunteers every year. They re-seed somewhat aggressively, but it isn’t difficult to slow their spread. This is a very fast growing vine that can reach lengths of 10′-25′ in a single season.
The vines are attractive, with deep green leaves that have a purple cast. The flowers are very similar to sweet peas in appearance and fragrance. I love adding these to cut flower arrangements. Cutting them in bloom is a great way to slow their spread, as well. After the flowers come bright purple seed pods, which are attractive in their own right.
Pole Beans
Adorn your arches with versatile pole beans for beauty and bounty.
There are many varieties of pole beans that you can grow on your arches. Some are highly ornamental, like the ‘Scarlet Emperor’ variety. This type has beautiful red flowers that hummingbirds are very attracted to. Others are best known for their tasty beans. Whatever purpose you prefer, there is a pole bean that will grow beautifully in your raised beds.
Pole beans are perennial in Zones 7-11 but grown as annuals elsewhere. They sprout and grow quickly, covering your arches with leafy, green foliage. Pick them young to eat whole, or allow them to mature for shelling peas. Succession plant for peas all summer long.
Star Jasmine
Embrace the enchanting fragrance of jasmine-adorned landscapes.
I’m partial to this one, probably because it’s in full bloom right now where I live. Let me tell you, there is no better smell than a whole town covered in jasmine vines. These perennial vines are evergreen, although in cold weather, they have a tendency to blush. This makes them interesting and beautiful even in wintertime.
Jasmine likes a lot of sunlight. That’s how you’ll get the most flowers. It’s not a fast grower, taking on about three to six feet per year. It is long-lived, however, and in a few years, you may be thinking about adding a second arch to grow it over. This plant releases its fragrance in the evening and works very well near outdoor living spaces where its perfume can be best enjoyed.
Malabar Spinach
Elevate your garden with vibrant Malabar spinach on arches.
Most types of spinach are cool weather lovers. Malabar likes the heat and is a really beautiful vining plant that looks great on an arch or trellis. Not a true spinach, this plant is still edible, and tasty. It really packs a punch in the nutrient department. Grown as an annual, these vines can reach up to 30 feet tall in a season.
Malabar spinach comes in two species, one white and one red. The color difference lies in the stems. I’m partial to the red variety, but they are both very attractive with rich, green, glossy leaves. The flavor is slightly peppery with a hint of citrus. The leaves are more tender and mild early in the season but like many garden herbs, turn bitter after the plant flowers.
Morning Glory
Grace your garden with delicate climbers, charming with trumpet-shaped blooms.
Morning glories make great climbing plants and their flowers are so delicate and lovely. Just keep them away from anything edible, as they are toxic if ingested. These vines, with their trumpet-shaped flowers and heart-shaped leaves, are just so pretty! They bloom early in the morning and close in the heat of the afternoon.
Plant morning glory seeds in the spring. The vines grow quickly as the temperature rises, and flowers will bloom through summer and into the fall. These plants attract songbirds and butterflies to the garden. In some areas, this plant is on the invasive list. Make sure to check with your local information center before planting.
Carolina Jessamine
Invite sunshine into your garden with this effortlessly charming vine.
This gorgeous and wonderfully fragrant flowering vine is a must-have for your garden. If you garden in Zones 6-10, this extra low-maintenance vine is going to add so much beauty to your landscape. How low-maintenance is it? I planted one of these against my mailbox a few years ago. I don’t water it. It’s in the shade for nearly the entire day. Every spring it produces wonderful flowers, and I regularly have to tie it back so that it doesn’t drive the mail person bonkers.
In full sun, Carolina jessamine will grow quickly and produce tons of sunshine-yellow flowers. It is cold hardy, only losing some of its leaves during the winter. It’s also exceptionally easy to train. The stems remain soft and pliable, so you don’t have to worry about snapping them while you train them over your arches.
Crossvine
Create garden drama with vigorous crossvine on sturdy arches.
Crossvine is fabulous for strong and sturdy arches. If you are looking for some serious drama in the garden, look no further. This is a substantial plant that grows vigorously and flowers bountifully. That said, it also spreads aggressively, so a raised bed is a great space for it. By containing the roots of your vine, you cut down on a ton of maintenance with this plant.
Crossvine is great for attracting pollinators to the yard. They are especially attractive to hummingbirds with their brightly colored, tubular flowers. This plant is semi-evergreen in warmer climates. In cooler climates, the leaves typically change color and fall in the winter. This is a statement-making plant that will have everyone asking for cuttings.
Cathedral Bells
Lure native bees with vibrant, cup-shaped blossoms on garden arches.
If you love to feed the bees, Cathedral Bells will bring those little garden helpers to the yard. Blue and violet are a bee’s favorite colors. These fast-growing vines produce wonderful, large, cup-shaped flowers. They start out green but quickly darken to shades of violet and blue, depending on the variety.
In warm climates, this vine is a perennial and can reach lengths up to 70 feet long. As an annual, it stays closer to a more manageable ten feet, the perfect length to grow on those raised bed arches. Pests aren’t interested in this vine, so it’s a great addition to a vegetable garden. Pinch the new stems to encourage branching for lush, dense foliage.
Mouse Melon
Add whimsy to your garden with adorable, mouse-sized fruits.
I hope you’re ready for one of the cutest vegetables you’ve ever seen. Even the name, Mouse Melon, is adorable. The fruit of this vine is just what it sounds like. It looks like a mouse-sized watermelon. The flavor is similar to that of a cucumber, with a slight tartness that makes them great for pickling.
Mouse melon vines are long, growing up to ten feet in a season, so they are perfect for garden arches. Their blossoms will draw pollinators to the garden. This vine needs full sun to perform at its best. Pick your fruits while they are small for the best flavor and texture.
Coral Honeysuckle
Add vibrant coral honeysuckle for charming, hummingbird-attracting blooms.
Everyone is familiar with white honeysuckle, but did you know that there are other colors, as well? Coral honeysuckle is a great vining plant that is native to the Southeastern United States. It’s less aggressive than its pale flowered cousin, but no less attractive. Hummingbirds, also, find this plant irresistible. This is one of the plants in my garden that nearly always has tiny, winged visitors.
Coral honeysuckle is easy to control and won’t pop up all over your yard. The bright coral, tubular flowers bloom in loose clusters. They give way to attractive red berries. The vine is evergreen throughout most of Florida and deciduous farther North. It’s very flexible and easy to train over arches or any other structure.
Final Thoughts
Vine-covered arches add a ton of personality to your raised bed garden. Whether you are creating a welcoming entryway or a charming walk-through, there are gorgeous vines to add to your garden. Growing them in raised beds makes them manageable and creates a stunning effect on the landscape.
