Gardens need destinations. And if that destination is slowly revealed even better. An arbor not only is beautiful but it can fill a need. In this case give shade and shelter and a place to rest. And, less you think it is all work and no play for Ted, I have found him asleep on the comfy cushion swing bench., that sits under this arbor. When you first enter the garden you cannot see this arbor. You have to walk down the path and turn to the right behind the Little Pink and Yellow Garden House.
At this point there are hops growing on the arbor. They rise from the 2 front post. The arbor sits on the north west corner of the garden. The problem was that hops want to follow the sun as they grow. So every few mornings I would be out turning them back to the north onto the arbor. And, hops leaves have little hairs on them that are irritating to some persons. I found them to be very irritating. So a couple of years ago, I dug them out. What a workout!
BressinghamThyme carpets the area around the arbor. I love this low growing thyme. Notice the, recently planted hops.
You can see the design in the just finished arbor
I removed the hops and have let grapes grow over the arbor. I’ll show better pictures later this year. Yes this is my arm. I didn’t like the rest of me in the picture.
It is a delight to see the response of guests as they open the gate to the 33 foot long arbor. It is partially hidden by a large lilac and juniper tree. A few years ago this narrow full sun side yard was hot and dry. It was while visiting the Denver Botanic Gardens that I got the idea of putting an arbor that would run along the side yard that leads to the back garden. And, of course, Ted designed and made this arbor. I promised him that it would be the last arbor I would think up and so far so good. I still have 2 more arbors that I have not introduced in this blog, so indeed enough is enough. But, this arbor is a delight. I don’t think I want vines to cover it. It is fun to be able to look down and through it from from our upstairs bedroom.
Blue Wooly Speedwell (veronica pectinata) is one of my favorite ground covers. It is a true zone 4 xeric. It is also not attractive to deer or bunnies. I have it in several places in the garden. On the left side I have been letting the raspberries spread. The yellow painted gate at the end says “Welcome to our Garden”. I love it when first time visitors say as they open the gate “It’s a secret garden”
A William Baffin Rose Blooms in the summer with a bit of re-blooming later in the season
Trumpet vines bloom in the summer. I have been taming the growth on the right side creating spaces for vegetable to grow
White flowers and a white arbor brighten the grey wall that encloses my first “garden room”. Our neighbor’s grey garage wall sits near the property line of our garden. I wanted some white to brighten the area. So, as is now the tradition with Ted and me, after enjoying a nice meal together, I ask him if he has any arbor ideas and he pulls out his paper napkin and proceeds to sketch the design. The biggest claim to fame that this arbor has is as a photo op. Ten years ago, I hosted a wedding shower for my friend Dell and later she was married in our home. I have an enlarged, framed picture of 26 friends sitting on and standing around this arbor.
- Behind the arbor, to the left is smoke bush, cotinus coggygria. After a few years of caring for the garden, the very large elm tree that shades the house, also came to shade the smoke bush. I dug out the smoke bush. The hydrangea and dogwoods flourished. Change is the one constant in a garden.
This arbor is very sturdy. I first planted it with a kiwi vine, with dreams of harvesting nice plump kiwis. The kiwis, if you can count 2 kiwis as a harvest, were like big marbles. After a few years I removed the vine. In this picture, the vine growing is hops. Hops die back every winter, but in the spring grow so fast. They quickly cover an arbor.
