Gazebos and Arbours
Arbours
The basic garden arbour consists of a bench seat with high lattice sides and back supporting either a solid of trellis roof. Arbours are available in a huge choice of designs and styles ranging from the basic through to highly elaborate structures with shaped roofs. With climbing plants growing on the trellis sides, an arbour offers a practical and great looking garden feature.
The vast majority of garden arbours are constructed from timber and feature a seat or two built in. A swing arbour, as the name suggests, features a swing bench attached to the arbour frame. If you’re wondering what to do with that neglected corner of the garden, a corner arbour might be just what you need.
Gazebos
The basic gazebo is simply a covered frame designed to provide shade from the sun and protection from showers. Like all garden structures, gazebos are available to suit all tastes and budgets ranging from cheap and cheerful polyester through to timber gazebos complete with cushions and thatched roofs. Although most often used in the garden for parties and other social events, the highly portable lightweight polyester gazebos are also useful for numerous other outdoor activities that require protection form the sun and rain.
Pagodas
A true pagoda is an oriental style garden structure similar to a gazebo. Although more common in Asia, there is a limited selection of pagodas available in the UK for those wishing to add an oriental flavour to the garden.
Pergolas
A pergola is the perfect garden feature to add height and structure to the garden. Once covered in climbing plants such as Wysteria, Clematis or honeysuckle, a pergola will provide shade over a patio area for years to come and look fantastic at the same time. Most garden pergolas are constructed from treated timber and will need to be erected by someone with reasonable DIY skills. The supporting posts will need to be supported with concrete for maximum longevity (similar to fence posts).