Add a Garden Arbor For a Touch of Elegance

By: Dan Lazaj

Garden arbors can be used for much more than support for your plants. Once the plants starts to grow on the arbor not only will it make a great backdrop it can also provide shade to a garden bench for a some outdoor enjoyment. Many types of climbing vine can be used in addition to some types of flowering plants if the branches are thin and pliable. Some of the most common vines that can be used will be hydrangea, ivy, and jasmine. If you would like to add fragrance to your garden consider planting honeysuckle or wisteria. Another plant to consider might be climbing roses, they can look great with proper care and training.

If you plan on using wood for your project it is important to use pressure treated, redwood or cedar wood because it is rot and insect resistant, as well as premixed concrete for stabilizing posts. To keep screws, bolts, and nails from rusting, be sure to employ galvanized hardware. The tools you will need will more likely include the following: a wheelbarrow for moving dirt, shovel, tape measure, step ladder, saw, hammer, and carpenters level as well. These are very common tools to many homes. Depending on the design you will use you might need additional tools to complete more complex designs.

If you are thinking about building the garden arbor from scratch by yourself it can be wise to obtain some blueprints or plans for this project. Arbor plans can be found in do-it-yourself books available at your local hardware store, as well as your local library. The Internet can be a great resource for locating free plans, simply search for free arbor plans in any search engine to locate them. The design you choose should be determined by your skills and tools you have available.

Something to consider about building a garden arbor yourself is whether or not you will have all the needed tools or if you will have to purchase new tools to complete the project. Also think about the time you will need and have available to complete this project. The average arbor will take about two days for completion by many folks. An arbor kit might make better economical sense and a huge time saver if you lack extra time.

Arbor prefabricated kits can be found in any price range or style. There many styles of simple designs that are very affordable, to elaborate designs with built in benches. Cedar is a very common choice of lumber used in many arbor kits. Other type of lumber can be redwood and pressure treated lumber. If you decide that a metal prefabricated kit would be a better choice of material, you will find there are many kits made of tubular iron or aluminum. If however the material of your choice is iron, consider hardened powder coat iron for a more durable longer lasting arbor. No matter what you choose, you are sure to add a great great backdrop to your landscape with a garden arbor.