Discover how I built a delightful DIY cottage garden tower for trailing flowers with a tomato cage, bamboo stakes, and seagrass rush. Ideal for compact areas, this vertical gardening project adds cottage-style appeal to any backyard. Use my detailed instructions to make one of your own!
DIY Cottage Garden Tower
Cottage gardens have a special kind of magic—their playful appeal, abundant layers of blossoms, and the feeling of history they inspire. But what happens when you lack room for an expansive garden? That’s where the DIY Cottage Garden Tower comes in, offering a vertical gardening idea that adds cottage-garden charm to even the tiniest areas. Whether you’re saving money by building it yourself or hoping to give your yard a distinctive accent, this project is an enjoyable and fulfilling way to design an eye-catching centerpiece.
In this guide, I’ll take you step by step through constructing your garden tower, offer suggestions for selecting the right plants, and explain how to care for it so it continues blooming beautifully for years.
Collect & Ready The Tower Materials
Collect everything you need, then go outdoors and begin assembling your cottage garden tower.
Supplies for this Project
1. Begin With A Tomato Cage
The foundation of my cottage garden tower is a 4-foot tomato support cage. For this project, a very inexpensive and somewhat flimsy tomato cage is precisely what you need.
2. Bamboo Stakes & Spray Paint
For this tower, I additionally used five 4-foot bamboo garden stakes along with Rust-Oleum copper-toned spray paint. Alternatively, you can keep the tomato cage and bamboo in their original natural finish.
3. Coat the tomato cage and bamboo with spray paint
Afterward, I quickly coated the tomato cage and bamboo stakes with the copper metallic spray paint; Rust-Oleum’s Hammered paints are among my favorites!
4. Getting The Seagrass Rush Ready
For my tower, I chose twisted seagrass rush, though you could also try sisal rope, jute twine, or twisted seagrass cord to create a comparable appearance.
When working with seagrass rush, I strongly recommend soaking it until it becomes soft, making it more flexible and simpler to handle.
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Build The Garden Tower: A Step-by-Step Guide
With all your supplies organized and prepared, you can now begin putting together your garden tower.
Step 1: Form the Base
- Bring the Tops Together:After the spray paint had dried, I brought the tops of the bamboo stakes together.
- Hold Them with an Elastic:I placed a large elastic band around the tops to keep them secured.
- Set the Bottoms:I tucked the lower ends of the bamboo stakes into the tomato cage’s upper metal ring.
- Distribute Evenly:I arranged the bamboo stakes as evenly as I could around the cage.
- Don’t Chase Perfection:Even if they aren’t completely even, there’s no need to worry—they’ll work perfectly well!
Covering The Tower
- Begin at the Top:
- Wind a generous length of rush around the upper portion of the bamboo stakes.
- Fasten it with a basic knot, which will conceal the elastic band as well.
- Continue at the Bottom:
- Secure the rush by tying a simple knot around the bottom of the tomato cage.
- Then start winding the rush around the outside of the metal rings.
- Adjust the Band’s Width:
- Use as much rush as needed to achieve the band thickness you prefer.
Fastening The Roping
- Secure Every Section:
- At the conclusion of each section, tie a knot to hold the rush in place.
- Snip away any excess rush.
- Wind It Around the Tomato Cage:
- Wrap the rush around the tomato cage along the three metal rings.
- For added support and a polished appearance, place another wrap close to the cage’s top.
Add the Final Details
- Wrap in a Vertical Direction:
- Once the tower’s circumference is covered, return to wrap the rush vertically around the bands too (refer to the photo above).
- Cut Back the Loose Ends:
- Leave the loose ends alone as you work—once everything is finished, trim them neatly.
Completed Cottage Garden Tower
Isn’t it absolutely adorable??!! I’m putting together a few more as well! For the next one, I plan to remove the biggest ring and create a shorter design (which is another reason a less sturdy tomato cage works well!)
You can see some of my other DIY plant supports HERE.
Time To Plant!
I placed the garden tower inside a large container first. Once I finish taking photos, I’ll anchor it securely with garden staples.
Isn’t that little flower the happiest??!!! I added 2 of these Proven Winner Tangerine Slice A-Peel Black-Eyed Susan Vines to the pot.
No need to worry, I’ll plant the rest of that garden too…come back over the next few weeks to follow along–there’s still so much to finish!!!
This is where I’m planning to create my cutting garden…additional raised beds will be built this weekend. Here’s a better view of my garden expansion.
Climbing Flowers
Climbing blooms bring a dreamy feel to a cottage garden and make the space even more magical. Below is a quick selection of climbing flowers that would look gorgeous growing over your DIY tower:
- Sweet Peas
- Delicate and fragrant, sweet peas are a beloved cottage garden staple. They’re available in many pastel shades and prefer cooler conditions.
- Clematis
- With their big, eye-catching blossoms, clematis vines are ideal for creating vertical appeal. Their colors range from rich purple to gentle pink and white.
- Nasturtiums
- Bright and trailing, these flowers are simple to grow and bloom in vivid orange, yellow, and red tones. They’re edible too, bringing extra color to salads!
- Morning Glories
- Morning glories grow quickly and abundantly, producing trumpet-like flowers in blue, purple, pink, and white. They’re an excellent choice for a sunny location.
- Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia)
- This delightful vine displays petite yellow or orange blooms with dark centers. It’s perfect for bringing a warm accent to your tower.
- Honeysuckle
- A wonderfully scented favorite, honeysuckle draws pollinators such as hummingbirds and bees. Its tubular flowers appear in yellow, pink, and white.
- Climbing Roses
- Nothing creates a more romantic atmosphere than climbing roses. Selections like ‘New Dawn’ or ‘Eden’ provide delicate, blush-colored flowers and a beautiful fragrance.
- Cup and Saucer Vine (Cobaea scandens)
- This unusual vine produces bell-shaped blossoms reminiscent of teacups. It grows rapidly and lends a playful character to any garden.
- Passionflower (Passiflora)
- Passionflower steals the show with its exotic and detailed blooms. It’s also an excellent plant for bringing butterflies to the garden.
- Jasmine
- For a sweetly scented climber, jasmine is a lovely pick. Its small, starry flowers release a rich and captivating fragrance.
Cottage Garden
Favorite Products
Browse my favorite gardening essentials! Raised beds, plant supports, & tools to help your garden flourish.
Mid Summer Check-In
Isn’t the tower delightful now that the flowers have grown and twined around it? It has been such a wonderful addition to my garden and a projectthat I crafted once more for the vegetable area of my garden.
This tower offers a simple way to bring cottage appeal to your vegetable garden as well! I placed them in my raised beds as a budget-friendly substitute for the expensive towers I find in nurseries and online. Affordable style—it’s my favorite combination!!
Making a cottage-style garden tower yourself is about more than completing a gardening task—it provides an opportunity to add enduring charm to your outdoor area. Whether you have a compact patio, a snug balcony, or a spacious backyard, this vertical gardening idea makes a flexible and appealing feature. Choose suitable plants and provide a bit of attention, and your garden tower will thrive into a living masterpiece that changes throughout the seasons. I hope this tutorial has encouraged you to get started and build a cottage garden tower of your own. Be sure to show me what you create—I’d be delighted to see how you make this project your own!
Have your projects showcased! If this project or one of my other DIY ideas has inspired you, I’d be thrilled to see your work and feature it in the Reader’s Spotlight gallery. Email a photo to jennifer@cottageonbunkerhill.com
xo, Jennifer
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