Walls That Work

This white gate is a stylish example of a formal garden-room divider.

Elaborate woodwork and a pergola-style top make this crisp white gate a stylish example of a formal garden-room divider. The arch in the middle suggests an entry door; the flanking trelliswork resembles muntined sidelights. Brick hardscaping is softened by restrained greenery, and potted plants add color.

Here, the use of shrubs creates a living wall.

Shrubs can perform as living walls; their fullness screens and encloses while their flowers and foliage provide visual interest. In this garden, a purple butterfly bush (Buddleia spp.), a golden arborvitae (Thuja spp.), and a dwarf Siberian spruce (Picea spp.) surround a sitting area. The bamboo lattice provides only a token physical barrier but acts as a linear boundary in contrast to the shrubs' roundness.

The cedar panels which make up this screen enclose to make a minature piazza.

Salvaged ironwork aged with a verdigris finish works with prefabricated cedar lattice panels to enclose a miniature piazza. Climbing vines and spiky foliage reinforce the lattice's strong vertical statement. Classical statuary tucked into overgrown greenery creates the look of a formal garden gone wild.

This combination provides both a place to sit and a view to enjoy.

Like a window seat indoors, a bench-trellis combination offers both a place to sit and a view to enjoy. The natural wood tones of the trellis set off the rose garden as it supports 'Constance Spry,' a vigorously growing shrub rose. The trellis' diagonal weave combines with the roses to form a romantic, wallpaperlike effect.