17 Stylish Arbor Ideas

Add structure and style to your garden with a beautiful arbor.

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Grow Climbing Roses

Make a Grand Entrance

Add a Destination

Top Off Your Patio

Decorate Your Deck

Create Winter Appeal

Make a Room

Add Height to Your Garden

Create Salvage Style

Define a Space

Create Garden Art

Mix Materials

Provide for the Birds

Dramatize Cottage Style

Go with a Classic Feel

Enhance an Asian Feel

Grow a Living Curtain

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Grow Climbing Roses

Few things go hand-in-hand in the garden like roses and arbors. Look for the climbing roses best adapted to your area -- not all roses grow well in all regions. Selecting the right rose will make your garden easier to keep up.

Make a Grand Entrance

Put an arbor -- even a simple one -- over your front walk to dress up your front yard and make your entrance a memorable one. For the most impact, choose an arbor that fits with the style and scale of your home.

Front-Yard Landscaping Tips

Add a Destination

It's a common mistake to get so busy filling your garden with plants that you forget to leave a spot where you can enjoy it all. So incorporate an arbor into your garden, put a bench beneath it, and you have the perfect garden getaway.

More on Making Garden Getaways

Top Off Your Patio

An arbor makes a charming addition to any patio. Not only does it help provide a focal point, but if you place it strategically, your arbor can also create an entrance or add privacy.

More Patio Ideas

Decorate Your Deck

Just like it can enhance a patio, the right arbor can add drama to your deck. Keep the style and scale of your structure consistent with the rest of your deck for an extra-special, beautiful area.

Deck Makeover Ideas

Create Winter Appeal

We tend to focus on what an arbor does for the garden in the growing season, but don't forget about the dormant season. Arbors add structure and shape to otherwise barren landscapes.

More Winter Landscape Tips

Make a Room

Combine a series of inexpensive metal hoops to create an instant garden room. The arbors together create a sense of enclosure, especially if you grow vines on them.

More on Outdoor Rooms

Add Height to Your Garden

Give your eyes a place to go up in the garden. Here, a wooden arbor nestles in a lush perennial border and provides structure and height.

Create Salvage Style

Find an old arbor at an antique or architectural salvage store to help make your garden feel more established. Or be creative and look for non-traditional materials.

Define a Space

Stuck with a narrow side yard? Use a simple arbor to help make it a destination. Here, an otherwise wasted, long and narrow space becomes a lush, inviting path.

More Side Yard Landscape Ideas

Create Garden Art

While arbors are traditionally painted white or left their natural wood color, you can add extra eye-appeal by painting yours in bold, bright colors. They become a focal point and a work of garden art.

Mix Materials

Add a sense of surprise with an arbor. Here, a crisp white arbor rises out of a boxwood hedge and is crowned dramatically with climbing roses. Incorporate an arbor into a hedge, or use a mix of materials, such as wood, metal, or stone to create your arbor.

Provide for the Birds

A simple -- or even an ornate -- arbor can be the perfect spot for birdhouses. Tuck smaller houses in for a subtle effect or use them as a focal point.

More Tips for a Bird-Friendly Yard

Dramatize Cottage Style

The right arbor can enhance your garden's theme or style. For example, a white arbor among lush plants creates perfect cottage style.

Go with a Classic Feel

If you have a classic-style garden, use a traditional metal arbor and climbing roses to run with the theme and create a perfect vignette.

Enhance an Asian Feel

Add to Asian style with a simple arbor. Look for an arbor with clean, simple lines and a natural color. Don't make it too dramatic -- in Asian style, the simpler is usually better.

Grow a Living Curtain

Weeping conifers look great when they carpet the ground, but they're downright stunning when supported and allowed to drape. This weeping larch is a perfect plant to clothe a sturdy arbor and create a landscape masterpiece.

17 Stylish Arbor Ideas

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