Safe arbour for plants

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by ARMANDII, Apr 18, 2011.

  1. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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    I have had 4 pieces of 11'x 4" x 2" of timber in my garage for the last 2 years, left over from a job now done, and always wondered what to do with them. The thought occurred to me, yesterday, why not build an Arbour facing West so that I can see the Sun go down while nursing a glass of red wine:yess: I've got a 7' piece of a tree trunk which I sawed in half today to make the seat.:ideaIPB:

    So the plan is to cut the four corner posts to 8' in length, cement them into the East Border, clad the two sides and back with Willow trellis and support the tree trunk seats by putting 4" x 2" horizontal runners on the inside from the back posts to the front posts and lay the two pieces of trunk onto them so that the ends rest on either side. The roof design I haven't worked out yet, angled, flat or curved???:scratch:

    So with the arbour facing West that means the sides are facing South and North. What I would like help with is with suggestions of plants to climb both sides, taking into account the sides would be 3' wide and 7' tall. :DOH: I also have to take into account that on the East side of the arbour is a Sunningdale Silver Pampas Grass and on the South side of it is a Choisya:what:

    So I'd be very grateful from you all if I could have some plants suggestion to solve my problem:love30::DOH:
     
  2. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    Can't help you much with ideas as my mind has gone blank this morning :dunno::DOH:

    But, due to obscure connections, you have now got a song running through my head that I can't get rid of. It's Mandalay, by Rudyard Kipling. The first verse starts:
    By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea,
    There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;

    The reason it popped into my head was that the sea is to the West of the Moulmein Pagoda (the harbour is slightly to the East) so don't make a 'Kipling mistake' and point it the wrong way. :heehee: :loll:

    I'm a mine of useless information :yahoo:
     
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    • bluequin

      bluequin Gardener

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      I'm very jealous Armandii, I'd love to have an arbour - just don't have the room.

      I don't know how big they grow and I've never tried to grow one (how's that for helpful!!), but how about a Golden Hop - I saw one once and it looked great.

      ... and I'd definitely go for a curved roof.
       
    • Fidgetsmum

      Fidgetsmum Total Gardener

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      I wish I could help with plant suggestions but I'm afraid the only thing which springs to mind is honeysuckle.

      My husband 'found' similar bits of wood in his garage and we too thought of evenings spent facing west and watching the sun go down whilst sipping something cool. So we measured, cut and I held things whilst he fitted the roof and, at last the structure was complete and we've used it .... once. It gets far too hot to sit there during the day and we discovered (a bit late) that sitting with the sun in your eyes isn't pleasant either. It's not a complete waste though, it makes a lovely sheltered spot for sun loving plants!
       
    • wiseowl

      wiseowl Admin 24/7 Staff Member

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      Hi ARMANDII you know what I am going to say ,perhaps some lovely climbing Roses:WINK1::)
       
    • ARMANDII

      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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      Thanks everybody for the advice on plants to clad and have around the Arbour.

      Shiney, unless the Sun changes it's track in the sky, I've got a reasonable idea where West is :scratch::DOH: But now, thanks to you, I can see myself sitting in the early evening sitting in the Arbour with a glass of wine humming "Mandalay":heehee::D:happydance:

      Don't worry, Bluequin, I haven't got the room really either as my garden is just packed with plants that I won't dig up or sacrifice for an Arbour:shocked: So it's going to squeezed into a very rare 4' gap on the East Border between a Pampas Grass and a Choisya where I lost a large Cistus due to the hard winter. With the Choisya I'll get lots of sweet scent from it when it's in blossom and, hopefully, with the other plants I' put up the sides I'll get more scent:yess::yahoo::happydance:

      I was thinking about the problem of the Sun in my eyes, Fidgetsmum, straight after the decision to make a West facing Arbour:scratch::ideaIPB: But, luckily, opposite the Arbour about 40' away is a large Lilac which will filter the Sun rays quite nicely as it goes down:thumbsup:

      Hi Woo, I knew you'd say Roses:heehee::yess: But could you be a bit more specific:D?
      I'd like the ideal rose, you know, repeat or perpetual flowering, heavily scented, resistant to diseases, you know nothing too hard:loll:
       
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