MAKING AN ARBOR FOR YOUR GARDEN: Step-by-Step Guide

A PRETTY PLACE to rest after the exertions of weeding is within an arbor Whether freestanding or placed against a wall, it will look delightful, especially when covered by a rambling rose or another scented climber, with a simple seat set at its heart. You need three 6x 2ft (183 x 61 cm) trellis panels to make the sides and trellis panels to make the sides and roof, and a 6x4ft (183 x 122 cm) panel for the back. 

Use four 6ft (183 cm) lengths of 2 x 2in (5 x 5 cm) timber for the uprights. Make a three-sided box by nailing the side and back panels to the outside of the four uprights with galvanized nails (drill holes in the trellis panels before nailing to prevent splitting). Cut down the roof panel to 4ft (122 cm) long and nail it across the top in the same way.

Fix the arbor to a wall with screws and plugs, or hammer fixing irons over the bottom rim if it is to be freestanding. Top the corner posts with wooden finials and fita shapely crest cut from marine plywood. Paint or stain the arbor.

INTIMATE ARBORS

Pergolas, loggias and verandahs may have space for several people but an arbor is made for one or two.

Ready-made arches of rustic poles, wooden trellis or wirework are sold at most garden centers and, when placed against a wall, hedge or fence, become an instant arbor. You can make your own with trellis panels and timber posts, then smother it with roses for the full romantic aura. In a semi-shaded site, clothe it with Clematis alpina, C. macropetala, runner beans or the colorful annual black-eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata).

Set the arbor among large-leaved plants such as fatsias, bergenias, the purplish ornamental rhubarb Rheum palmatum ‘Atrosanguineum’ and rodger-sias. All have a solidity that emphasizes the structure’s delicate charms. For scent, add woodruff (Galium odoratum).

Turn a walled corner into an arbor by fixing a strong trellis panel across the top. Make it more distinctive by raising the ground a little and laying an approach of a couple of semicircular steps. If the garden is very sheltered and south-facing, grow the evergreen climber Trachelospermum jasminoides which will look spectacular planted on each side of the arbor, where it will twine its way up wires and over the trellis. Its glossy, dark green leaves are attractive all year, while in summer, the small, star-like flowers produce the most ravishing fragrance. In more exposed areas, the evergreen and scented honeysuckle Lonicera japonica

Halliana’ is a good alternative. Put a silky-leaved Artemisia absinthium Lam-brook Silver at the foot of each honey-suckle as a finishing touch.

Against a white wall, an Actinidia, kolomikta is lovely clambering up either side of the arbor. Its heart-shaped green leaves are generously splashed with white and pink, as if by a carcless painter. To add flowers and swooning scent put a few pots on either side, thickly planted with

pink and white lilies and tobacco plants.

SIMPLE GREEN BOWERS

AN ARBOR FOR YOUR GARDEN

A striking, permanently green bower is easily made with a strong timber frame covered with stapled-on chicken wire plastic mesh. Cover it with ivies and it takes on an ancient rustic character. Try dark green Hedera helix and H. hibernica, the yellow-variegated H. helix

Gold heart’ or some of the large-leaved ivies such as H. colchica ‘Sulphur Heart’, He. Dentata Variegata’ and H. algerien-sis Gloire de Marengo’.

Before the ivy makes enough growth, plant annual climbers, such as runner beans, sweet peas, the cup-and-saucer plant (Cobaea scandens) or morning glory (Ipomoea hederacea) round your bower.

Experiment with other evergreen frames for your seating Plant a semicircle of box or conifer

hedging behind a curved seat. Carve out an alcove from a well-established hedye. Be sure it is one that sprouts again after hard pruning, such as yew or privet.

When planting a new hedye, set one section about 2-3ft (60-90 cm) further back than the rest, making 4 natural recesses long enough to take a bench. + Planta hedging conifer at each side of

garden bench and train and clip the two to meet in a round or pointed arch.

TREE BOWERS

Weeping trees make delightful natural arbors for a seat. The weeping ash is very hardy and thrives almost anywhere the soil is not waterlogged. In time it forms a medium-sized tree whose leafy branches trail to the ground, providing the opportunity to trim away a small arch to frame the seat.

Weeping willows are suitable for simi-lar treatment and look lovely by water. However, they become large trees so do not be tempted to plant them in a small garden – they lose their grace if they are chopped back. Much better are the weeping purple beech (Fagus sylvatica Pendula Purpurea‘) and the silver- leaved pear, Pyrus salicifolia Pendula’, both of which make charming arbors, one darkly glowing, the other airily pale.

 

For a quick result plant two silver-leaved pears about 8 fit (2.5 m) apart, then tie the top branches together at the center and prune away some of those underneath to make a shady cave’; a climbing rose such as Parade’ or Pink Purpurea’ and the purple-leaved vine (Vitis vinifera Purpurea’) look beautiful growing up through the branches Most of the evergreens that are tradi-tionally used for topiary – yew, laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), a fast-growing box (Buxus sempervirens Handsworthiensis’) and honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida) – form green ‘houses’ with patience and careful clipping.

Plant bushes in a round, rectangular or hexagonal shape, leaving part open. Train the branches up and as soon as they have grown high enough, pull their tops over and tie them together to form the roof. Keep the bower well trimmed within. If you grow alternate green and gold privets in this way they make a striking striped ‘tent’.

PAVILIONS AND SUMMERHOUSES

Similar to the living tent is a small garden pavilion, a pretty feature to look at in the garden as well as an elegant place to sit. Have two or all four sides with an open- ing and the pavilion becomes a gazebo, less sheltered in a breezy garden but less stuffy in a sunny one.

If you want something more substantial, invest in a summerhouse, in rustic, Gothic or sturdy modern style. One of these wooden houses makes a lovely spot to take tea in the summer or to retreat to on a sunny day in the winter, and it has great potential as a children’s playhouse or a store for garden furniture.

COURTYARDS OR PATIOS

Not quite so enclosed is a courtyard or authentic patio. It is open to the sky but is sited within sheltering walls or fences. Sometimes a courtyard has one wall, usually the back of a larger building, that is tall and somewhat overwhelming, but the intimidating effect is lessened i by

placing your seating area at its food that you face away from it. First paint a large arch or rectangle on the lower part of the wall. eyes down, make a raised To bring the semicircular or

rectangular seating area in front and edge it with a low wall. Place a bench in the center with a pair of : architectural plants – such as fatsias, figs, Mahonia X media Charity’ or Mexican orange blossom (Choisya ternata) – on each side.

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 Instead of painting an arch, frame the seat by training a plant on the wall into a fan shape or by fixing a decorative panel of metalwork, trellis or simply bamboo screening. Or make a frame with a climber trained from each side to meet and form an arch. Fix a wall mask in the center and, beneath it, install a raised pool with a wide, flat coping on which to sit and admire the fish or water lilies.

On the lower level round the raised seating area, plant a narrow bed with a low evergreen hedge of hedge, lavender or clipped box. Standard roses or fuchsias, or lollipop-shaped bays under- planted with pansies, give form and color to admire from the seat, especially when backed by Parthenocissus henryana climbing on the remaining walls.

RETREAT ON THE R00F

Every bit of potential garden space is an asset, so in towns, where space is at a premium, a roof garden is especially valued Discover at the outset from your local. planning officer and a surveyor what restrictions there are on the appearance. structures and weight.

As a flat roof is strongest at its perimeter, put the largest containers there. No matter how light the containers are themselves (plastic and glass fiber being particularly useful), the filling of the com- post weighs a considerable amount. You need easy access to water and unimpeded drainage channels for rain-water to run off. Bear the drainage in mind when you choose the ‘ground’ surface. Artificial turf gives a welcome air of green open space and does not get too hot in summer. Lightweight tiles in a restful color are good, while decking is particularly attractive and practical.

Give shelter from wind and sun with panels of trellis or slatted timber, which preserve the sense of space as well as being more effective than solid wind-break panels. Look for trellis made from recycled polystyrene if you wish to be green’. Add canvas or bamboo screening on the most exposed side. A sense of is needed as much as physical shelter; a vast expanse of sky is a little

daunting. What you need is a feeling of space that is safely corralled.

Some kind of ‘ceiling’ helps, Dutch- blinds or pullout canvas awnings are pleasant and cheerful, while a lightweight pergola adds a more formal, structural note to the design. Pergola sounds rather grand, but a simple design suffices. Two posts fixed into neat, square, metal or brick ‘shoes’ mark the outer corners. A length of timber joins them at the top and another runs from the top of each post back to a joist fixed across the wall or to the screen. Two or three light beams across this framework complete the job.

PLANTS FOR THE HIGH LWH

Train wind tolerant climbers over the beams to Create dappled shade; ivies will Grow up in time and honeysuckle and Clematis montana add color.

Most climbers do well on the house wall if the roof garden has one, Apart (rom climbers, spiky plants such N cordylines, phormiums and yuccas, and many gray-leaved plants (eistus, laven-der, rosemary, helbe, Convolvulus ceo-run) often do exceptionally well, giving a Mediterranean air, Suitable palms for a rooftop are restricted to trachycarpus fortunei and Chamaerops unilis, An exuberant atmosphere prevails when every container brims over with a riot of annuals in summer, but i you prefer a more restrained look, plant nothing but evergreen foliage plants.

IN SUMMARY

Whatever your style of garden, create l space to suit your needs and fill it with those plants that give you most pleasure. Draw inspiration from as many sources as you can- look at books, magazines and other gardens. Whether you wish to stretch out in the sun or to meditate in

the shade, there are sites and seats for all tastes – from the simple and conventional to the wild and whimsical.