Arbor - the heart of the garden

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Garden arbors are very special objects of small architecture. They do not just decorate the plots or are a great option for decorating a place to relax. After all, any gazebo, even the most modest in size and materials, is no less than the heart of any garden. This is the focus of attention, the semantic center that determines the perception of the site as a whole. And reveals the mood, the rhythm reigning in him. And at the same time - a crowning element that gives the gardens a complete look. The importance of gazebos is so great that it’s a real crime to approach their choice, much less placement and design thoughtlessly. In the case of garden arbors, there are no trifles. They can either become the main pride of the garden, or nullify the entire landscape design.

A special sitting area for a special garden

Garden arbors are first of all corners for solitude and rest. They are both visually and atmospheric most reliably protected from the rest of the world, its noise, fuss and worries. In the gazebo, everyone feels calm and relaxed, isolated and secluded. And at the same time, they do not cut off from the beautiful garden and the green kingdom surrounding you, but only give you the opportunity to retire and reflect, relax from everyday worries and enjoy the beauty of the garden without prying eyes. From the gazebo, landscapes always appear in a special brilliance, as if on stage the soloists and their modest retinue sparkle with beauty. And the atmosphere and nature of the garden, its style and colors are revealed more than ever before.

Pergolas in the garden are real dream objects. After all, this is an expressive, effective architectural design element, and an oasis protected from the wind, the sun, and other people's curiosity. And at the same time, an object completely immersed in the garden, its integral part, is a kind of concentration of all the best that recreation areas in the garden can offer. Pergolas surrounded by the best garden landscapes and plants are suitable not only for relaxation. Here you can get a cup of tea, have a friendly conversation, read, craft, and even just dream in comfort and silence.

Today, the question of an unlimited choice of gazebos and pavilions of very different designs seems to have made the process of finding the perfect option for your garden even more difficult than when the assortment was more than meager. A variety of designs, which differ in size, and in visual "lightness", and in the degree of closeness and even in style, make it possible to find a suitable model even for the most unusual projects and original gardens. And choose and the truth is and why. Gazebos are divided into:

open and glazed (actually arbors and pavilions);
wooden, metal and modern polymers;
graceful and massive;
romantic, minimalist, oriental pagodas, art objects and modern designs, etc.

Pavilions can be built and built yourself, even design original designs, and you can buy ready-made models. Moreover, no matter which option you choose, you need to carefully consider all the parameters, evaluate your capabilities and important nuances:

Determine the budget that you can spend on the construction of the gazebo, taking into account not only the price of the structure (or materials), but also the problems of delivery, construction work, additional costs for the construction of the foundation, etc.
Choose the perfect place.
Decide if you need a closed or open design.
Calculate the optimal size of the gazebo.
Engage in landscaping and creating a colorful environment or adjust the existing one so that you harmoniously link the structure and the garden, make them one whole.

Start with style and materials: the gazebo should fully comply with the concept of the garden and buildings. And then proceed to the practical parameters.

Optimal placement is not so easy to find

Choosing a place for the gazebo is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. You need to think not only about your convenience and how exactly the gazebo will fit into the garden. And the design itself needs to be presented in all its splendor, to reveal its role and importance in design, to make it a focus of attention. And in order to complete these seemingly incompatible tasks, one must strictly follow the rules:

The gazebo or pavilion can only be placed in a place where it will be visible from anywhere in the garden - from the house to its farthest corners. But at the same time, if you have a small garden, remember that the gazebo is a kind of antagonist to the house on the site, it is better to place it in the diagonal of the corner of the garden from it.
All flat areas and lawns should be avoided or provided that, in addition to the arbor, you will also have to create gardening elements. This object of small architecture must have been surrounded by plants and as if immersed in decorative compositions.
It is advisable to place a gazebo and taking into account the shade, comfort of rest. Often they are “tied” to a large tree, with which the arbor will harmonize in scale and shape, creating symbiosis and simplifying the task of finding visual balances.
From the gazebo should open the best panorama in the garden. Therefore, it is stirred in such a way that while inside one could admire the ceremonial compositions, the pond, look around the most important and significant objects, look at the garden from its best side.

Seasonality of arbors

Pergolas are a permanent, secure place to relax. But as far as it will be protected, it is necessary to decide at the initial stage. All arbors are divided into:

closed;
half open;
completely open.

If you almost never visit the garden in the cold season, you are going to enjoy warm, beneficial summer money and evenings in the gazebo, then the simplest design with fully or half-open walls, that is, classic arbors, is enough for you. But if you want to be able to relax in the gazebo even in the cold season, you will have to erect not a gazebo, but a pavilion - a closed glazed structure, with large panoramic windows, a kind of “aquarium” in the middle of greenery. Good thermal insulation and warming make the pavilion an attractive place at any time of the year. Here you can even set up a conservatory or conservatory, and not just relax.

Size and visual lightness

The dimensions of the gazebo are the most important, basic parameter, which should be guided when choosing a design. It should be sufficient to accommodate the furniture you need. Given the number of visitors and the planned nature of leisure, you need to calculate the inner diameter of the gazebo, which will determine all its dimensions. If you want a classic gazebo, in which it will be convenient for 4 visitors at a time, with a bench around the perimeter of the gazebo and a table, then you need a construction with a diameter of about 2-2.2 m. If you want not a boring “girdle” bench, but chairs near the table , then the diameter of the gazebo or pavilion needs to be increased to 2.5-2.8 m. For a large company, you need to build a gazebo at least 3 m in diameter, and for reading and modest secluded relaxation, the parameters can be reduced to 1.5-2 m.

But it is necessary to think over not only the practical side and internal space. After all, the gazebo should be correlated with the entire site, its structure, structures, house, large trees and even flower beds. It should be proportional to the garden, not suppress it, not dominate, but perceived as a harmonious part of the whole project. This does not mean at all that if you have a small garden, then you need a small arbor. It just visually should be light and elegant, weightless. Visual lightness is just as important as physical volumes. In large gardens, you can use massive structures, closed pavilions, any shapes and outlines, narrowing, reducing space. In small ones, preference should be given to airy, weightless objects in which there are no massive beams and elements, all lines are softened, seem lacy and transparent.

To find the optimal dimensions of the gazebo, you need not to rush and evaluate the place from different points of view:

Define the parameters necessary for your vacation.
Inspect from a distance the place where the gazebo will be located and "try on" its sketch on the ground. If it’s difficult for you to imagine a gazebo, take a picture of a corner of the garden and use any programs to adjust photos by placing the structure in the panorama and evaluating whether it fits well there.

"Frame" for the gazebo

In order for such an important, significant in its role in the design and structure of the garden object of small architecture, like a gazebo to fulfill its functions and not look inappropriate, alien, albeit a very attractive detail, you must not forget to take the time and effort to design.

Gardening of a gazebo is the creation or addition of existing decorative plantings in such a way that the gazebo organically fits into the look of a particular zone and the garden as a whole, becomes a harmonious part of the landscape. If the arbor is installed on a “bare” site, then either a decorative group of shrubs is planted around it, or a flowerbed-ring, a discount, mini-flowers with large elements connecting the design and the rest of the garden and colorful surroundings are planted with the same meaning. If the arbor is installed in colorful compositions, then you just need to make a few final touches that combine the colorful environment with the architectural object itself.

There are many ways to green the arbor and surround it with plants. The main tools of this “work” are:

Vines that drape the design itself.
Colorful shrubs that balance its effect on the panorama and are associated with large elements in the garden.
Perennials and perennials creating colorful, flowering compositions.
Ampels and pot gardens, which place emphasis, replace permanent plantings and play the role of a transitional stage from the plant environment to the structure itself.

The easiest way to accomplish the task of "linking" the gazebo and garden with the help of vines. For arbors and pavilions, plants are always chosen from among the most spectacular climbers, able to create flowering openwork bedspreads, soften lines, mask the dimensions of the structure, give the whole arbor either brightness or romantic sophistication. Charming climbing roses are just a classic option for strong, massive and concise shapes. Clematis air cover is ideal for openwork and transparent arbors with forged elements. Perfectly cope with the task of dumping arbors and annual creepers, which can be changed literally every year (from kobe and morning glory to exotic species).

If you did not place the gazebo under a large tree or near a group of tree and shrubs, be sure to plant at least one attractive large bush nearby that will attract eyes and balance the structure. Depending on the size of the garden and style, you can use sheared shrubs, and the main landscape plants. Rhododendrons, lilacs, mock lilies, weigela, dejtsiya, skumpiya, showy barberries and large varieties of spirea - even among unpretentious species there is plenty to choose from.

As for the colorful flower beds and decorative compositions from perennials, here you must bet on flowering. Roses, peonies, classic textural partners - lavender, veronica, sage, bluebells, powerful lilac and astilbe, spectacular phlox, daylilies and yarrows, cornfields, geraniums, irises, ferns and hosts - you can choose accents for any season and any style , and for any lighting. The main thing to remember is that, as in the case with the design of ordinary recreation areas without architectural elements, preference should be given to hardy, not requiring complex care, effective and fragrant plants.

But annuals in the design of the gazebo are best used as point, expressive accents. Of course, they can completely replace the composition and create a whole pot garden around the arbor, similar to the design of a terrace. But even a couple of plants at the entrance to the gazebo, attracting eyes to it, will be enough. They subtly change the mood and give the design a completely new character.