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A garden with no height can look very 2-Dimensional, even though it is actually 3-Dimensional. Picture the old stlye of garden that used annual bedding plants in flat beds, for three months of the year. Very pretty but neither practical nor desirable for most people today, with their busy lives and their need for a low maintenance garden.
As more people are using the garden as an outdoor living space, the emphasis has changed, with more focus on interesting garden structures, which create interest. The garden has become an area of 'designed space' used for relaxation and an escape from the rigours of daily life.
By introducing tall structures, you have the potential to include even more design features - shapes, styles, materials and textures.
Fit these to suit your garden. For example, an ultra-modern, smooth metal pergola may not look as fitting in a cottage garden as a more rustic pergola, and a very ornate or stylised pergola may not suit the more modern house and garden. Use your judgement here. Be creative and do a little basic planning first - so that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb!
Creating Height
Think about how everything in you garden will fit together. You may be able to do this in your head but some find it easier to jot a simple design on a piece of paper. Make the structures have some purpose - an entranceway, a stand-lone feature, an arbour or deck in a corner, for example. A liitle thought beforehand will make the decisions much easier.
Because these structures look so good, it seems that they must be difficult to install/build but they are relatively easy for the great effects you achieve!
Some interesting structures are:
Pergolas
Asian Pergola
Rustic Pergola
Corner Pergola
Hexagonal Pergola
Domed Pergola
Vinyl Pergola
Pagoda Feature
Arches
Arbours
Swinging Arbours
Seated Arbours
Gazebos
Metal Gazebo
Obelisks
Trellis Pannels
Decking with pergola
Lean-to
Explore some ideas and examples of pergola kits. There are many types and styles available to choose from, in a variety of different materials.
Planting
Of course, plants can transform a garden structure and make it into a thing of beauty. Climbing plants not only look good but can provide fantastic fragrance. Their form, colour and smell surprise us again and again as they bloom each year. If for nothing else, it's great to have a structure over which to grow these wonderful plants.
Take a look at some examples of
climbing plants
, the icing on the cake!
