Theme Variations

Use arbors to frame a view, to greet guests, to provide a place for a bench, or to give the garden a sculptural feel. Arbors not only draw you along a garden path; they provide a place for vines to scramble skyward.

 

An elegant entrance.

A blend of cedar and wrought iron form an arbor that's long-lasting and weather resistant. Use metal to incorporate curves into traditional right-angle designs.

Most often, people associate arbors with entry, indicating a passage from one area of the garden to another. Enhance this sensation with a little architectural sleight-of-hand. Intensify the demarcating effect of an arbor by expanding its borders. Add to the arbor's structure with raised planters, built-in benches, or lattice-topped extensions.

 

Arbor art.

A simple, affordable treatment entails laying brick or flagstone directly beneath an arbor and slowly fading it into gravel or mulch pathways on either side of the arbor. Decorate your arbor with annual or perennial vines that offer color and shade.

Gussy up a gate to do more than usher guests into the garden. Adding substantive concrete pillars, a top dressing of rail rafters, and a clematis vine creates garden sculpture.

 

Rooftop creativity.

For freestanding arbors, surround the structure with an abundance of lush shrubs, such as hydrangeas, shrub roses, and Korean lilacs, to form living walls and create a sense of privacy.

With the posts of an arbor in place, turn your imagination loose and choose the covering overhead. This scrap-metal mesh lets the sun shine on the brick patio below.