What are you going to build it with – all wood, or a mixture of
materials? A larger pergola could have stone or brick pillars with a
Time to add a
wooden ‘roof’ of wooden slats. Think of Hestercombe, particularly
the smaller end section which stands separately from the main part
of the pergola framing the great plat in the Edwardian garden.
pergola to your
Do you want rambling roses and clematis, wisteria and
honeysuckle? Choose varieties from among those and you will
garden?
have dappled shade in the summer while softening the outline.
Evergreens could make it too dark, although will give privacy in
a garden that is overlooked.
It might be worth while employing a garden designer or at least
a professional who has built pergolas – but it should be your
pergola, so have your own ideas without being too inflexible.
Whatever you decide, make sure that the structure is strong and
Before the garden really gets going and growing again, why not,
well supported. Pay attention to the way that the vertical supports
think about building a new structure – something plants can
are joined to the horizontal ‘roof’, and the foundations. Set metal
climb up and you can walk or sit under.
or concrete verticals directly into concrete, but wooden verticals
A pergola fits the bill. It doesn’t have to be the grand type to
must be fixed to a steel foot set in concrete or a concrete spur, or
be seen in pictures of Edwardian gardens, probably the hey day
the wood will rot if in direct contact with the ground.
of pergola construction. A smaller, simplified version will add
A pergola could give your garden that extra dimension that it
height and elegance to any garden.
needs, particularly on a flat site. It could bring together various
elements in a garden to make it more unified.
Just make sure that it is not too large or clumsy and out
of proportion.
P H I L B R O W N
G A R D E N A N D L A N D S C A P E D E S I G N
WWW.PHILBROWNDESIGN.COM
Aiming for the best – the sensational pergola at Hestercombe in Somerset
A pergola can be free standing, away from the house, or it can
extend from a wall of the property, making an outside room. It
can be a fairly minimalist modern design, or have an old world
look with trellis work and decorative features.
It could be curved or straight, according to the existing layout of
the garden. You may want to change some of the overall design
Beautiful gardens and landscapes
of your plot to fit in with it, such as moving or widening a path,
or making a paved area at one or both ends.
have always
Before you do anything, stop, look at your garden and think
begun
about where the structure is going to be built and its purpose.
with
Do you want a pergola that is static, where you would go to
sit beneath on a sunny day and either be an outside room or
D e s i g n
further out in the garden? Or one that is more directional, that
leads the eye to make you walk under it and will link one part of
the garden with another?
To begin creating your own beautiful, unique
Make some sketches. A pergola that you would like to sit under
and special space please call me:
would need to be quite wide, over a paved or gravel area, whereas
01934 733864
a directional pergola could be longer and narrower, curved or
straight. Sketch plans also help get the proportions right. 07765 485021
If your garden seems right for it, you might like a modest
www.philbrowndesign.com
version of a tunnel arbour such as at the recreated medieval
garden at Queen Eleanor’s garden at Winchester, using bent over
willow boughs instead of heavier wood.
Country Gardener
37
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