Garden Structures – Pergola siting

A pergola is a wooden structure that is usually designed for one or both of two purposes - for greenery to grow up and over, or for shade and decoration. While most pergolas are built from sawn timber, they can be constructed in a number of ways as this photograph shows, and the planning of materials and design should be influenced by your garden and how you use it.

If you own a small town garden, you will be influenced by surrounding buildings and by how much your space is overlooked. Your choice of plants too will be have to be governed by how much light is available as town gardens can be heavily shaded by overhanging trees or nearby structures. Alternatively, especially if you have a roof garden, it may be a sun trap that becomes too hot and windy, so you may need to create some shade. In either case, you will want to keep your design simple, viewing the pergola as an extension of your living or dining room, where meals can be eaten under the flowers or vines which provide both shade and privacy.

In a rural setting you may want to plan the pergola to act as pathway in bad weather so that you can get to the coal shed, the washing line or the bird table by walking on a safe surface with some protection from wind and rain over your head. This kind of pergola can be more fanciful.

If you plan your pergola close to the house, it’s really important to measure the projection of your eaves or gutters. You need to ensure the centre of the posts nearest to the house will be at least seven inches from this projection measurement.

Garden pergola rustic photograph by sheilaellen, used under a creative commons attribution licence.

 

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