Materials
16'x 52" section of a cattle fence
4 stakes or 4 "T" posts
Wire attachments for fencing
Good mallet or sledge hammer for pounding the stakes in
You will need to get your cattle fence panel at a farm and feed supply store or check Lowe's, Eagle's, Supply One, etc. This one was purchased at the local Grange Co-op for $14.95 and they sometimes can be found on sale for only $12.95!
These panels are galvanized steel and are flexible but you need to be very careful when bending them to get the arch shape you want. That is why you need a strong helper! If you loose your grip it can snap back and cause some serious injury!!! Pick the location and pound in your stakes for one side of the arbor at 50 inches apart. Stand the cattle panel straight up against the inside of your stakes and attach it securely.
Place the other two stakes approximately 3 1/2 feet away from the first two, also at 50 inches apart. Making sure they line up with the first two.
Now, have your strong friend help you to bend the panel over into an arch having it touch ground just on the inside of the opposite stakes and attach them quickly and securely!
Plant a fast growing vine and Voila, you have a beautiful arbor for under $15-$20.00! Annual vines such as Blackeyed Susan, Morning Glory or Cardinal Climbers look great. I'll try to get another photo when the Morning Glory has climbed all over it again!
I will fine tune these plans once I have more accurate measurements. The "T" stakes are fairly tall for this project and I don't like the way they look when there is nothing growing. They stick out like a sore thumb! I suppose rebar stakes could be used as long as you can wire the bottom of the panels to them really tightly. You wouldn't want it to come loose ripping out your plant and maybe hurting someone, there is a LOT of tension on the panel!!!
