How to Cover Cinder Blocks on Exterior Walls

Build a trellis in front of the wall for climbing plants. Use 5-gallon pots at the end of your trellis and trellis netting for the body. Put the pots at the corners of the wall, and add extra pots in the center if the wall is longer than 8 feet.

Put 6-foot-long stakes or poles in the pots as your supports, and fill the pots with heavy gravel or decorative rock to secure the stakes. Adjust the stakes until they're straight up and down.

Cut lengths of trellis netting long enough to run from one stake to the next, plus 1 foot. Wrap one end of the netting once around the first stake and tie it at every 4 to 5 inches with twine or wire. Run the netting to the next stake, wrap the end of the netting once around the stake and tie off. Repeat this process from stake to stake until you cover the entire wall.

Run a length of wire from the first stake to the last, threading it through the top of the trellis netting. Wrap the wire around the end stakes for security, and repeat with another length of wire at the bottom of the netting. The wire provides more security in the trellis.

Plant climbing or vining plants like climbing roses, ivy, bougainvillea and nasturtiums in front of the trellis. Choose sites along the wall that offer quick drainage, and turn 6 inches of organic compost into the top 12 inches of soil in those sites. If you don't have quick-draining sites, use 7- to 10-gallon pots with drainage holes to protect the plants from standing water, which can be a problem along walls. Fill the pots three-quarters full of a mix of half organic compost and half garden loam for potting. Add starter 5-10-10 fertilizer to any potting or planting soil. Plant the vining plants in holes deep and wide enough for their root balls, and water with 1/2 gallon of water.

Tie the main canes and stems of the plants up to the trellis netting with soft cord, felt or twine ties. Keep the ties loose to avoid damaging the plants, and tie only at main stems, as foliage and flowers break off. Train the plants to climb and trail up and over the wall to hide the cement blocks.