A pergola or arbour is a good way to add some height, shade and privacy to your garden.

Pergolas

A pergola is an open structure, usually made of wood. Wooden uprights support a lattice of cross-beams, providing a supporting structure for climbing plants. Sometimes the sides are trellised to provide additional support.

You can add a pergola to your garden simply to provide support for a plant, or you can use it to provide interest or to frame a view. You might use it as a linking walkway between one part of the garden and another. If your garden is very open, you can use it to provide a shady and sheltered area.

It is easy to build your own pergola, using fenceposts concreted into place for the uprights, and sturdy timbers for the main beams. Notch a section out of the posts for the beams to fit into, nail or screw them securely. The crossbeams can use slightly smaller timbers, and should be notched at intervals to fit over the main beams. Make sure you use timbers that are strong enough to support any plants you plan to grow up the structure. Wisteria and grape vines can get quite large and heavy.

Arbours

An arbour is seating area that is enclosed on three sides and has a roof over it, providing shade and privacy. It could be a bench with trellis sides and a little pitched roof, or it could be a pergola-like structure with trellised sides in a corner of the garden that can seat several people.

Small arbours are available to buy in kit form from large garden centres and DIY shops, or you can build your own if you’re confident with a hammer and saw.

 

 

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