Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Arbors and Pergolas - Garden Blogger Design Workshop

Garden Blogger’s Design Workshop
ARBORS and PERGOLAS

Depicted below are a few of my favorite arbors and pergolas that we have designed and built for some of our clients.
I’ve also thrown in a few photographs taken while in Bali last year .
The pergola as we know it is called a ‘bale’ in Indonesia. ( pronounced bal-lay .)

This entry pergola was part of a full master plan that I worked on that included the landscape architecture and the design of the exterior architecture. The residence is located in a pristine oak forest in Carmel Valley CA.
The entry pergola is crafted out of wrought iron ( Aliano Ironworkers in Salinas CA ) and sits ontop of two cast concrete doric columns.

We also designed the matching hand rails.



This project located in Mill Valley Ca. was a real treat to work on.
We were given the opportunity to transform a plain plywood sheathed house into a home that had a decidedly California Craftsmanship flair to it.
New cedar shingles, new moulding around the windows and a new entry arbor helps give this flat faced facade some three dimesionality.



Blackburn looking down side view of entry pergola


This arbor constructed from redwood ( wooden cross beams ) and rigid polystyrene ( extruded doric columns ) sits out in the middle of the garden.
It acts as a hub. Go straight through the arbor and you will reach the vegetable garden , turn left under the arbor and you are lead down hill to the childrens play area, turn right and you traverse up a set of stone steps to the viewing garden ( San Francisco Bay views ) .



In Wine Country we were asked to design a set of arbors , a bocce ball court and a fairway/ soccer field.



This is a simple welded mesh wire arbor that I found at a local garden nursery.
It is located at the end of a driveway and marks the entrance to the back yard.


B A L I !
A bamboo covered walkway in a residential garden.



A typical ‘bale’ style pergola over a pool - private residence


bougainvillea covered pergola in bali - love the carvings on the posts !

6 comments:

Chris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener) said...

One thing I can never keep clear in my mind: What's the difference between an arbor and a pergola? It seems one is a path or a walkway? At what point does one become the other?

Anonymous said...

Cripes almighty! Garden porn is right.

The quality of the photos on your post are only surpassed by the quality and creativity of your arbors/trellises/pergolas.

You are a porn star!

Unknown said...

So gorgeous.
My favorite has to be the pergola the table and chairs are located under. What a dining experience that would be!

You are really gifted.

Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle said...

Xris,
You're not alone.
I twist up the definition of arbors, pergolas and trellis's all the time.
I should just play it safe and call 'em garden structures.

Jim,
You got me laughing.
P.S. I do all my own garden porn action scenes .

Greeny,
Thanks for the nice words.
It's always good to hear that people appreciate a craftspersons' work.
The validation keeps us all going.

Keep up with your own creativity.

Michelle

Lisa at Greenbow said...

The wrought iron seems so right in a warm sunny garden. I really like the way it is arched over the entry patio. These are all dream gardens structures. :)

Anonymous said...

For centuries, garden arbors have been a fixture in homes and gardens from the most expensive mansions to the most humble villa and everything in between. The garden arbor originated in Italy, but they can be found all over the world bringing fragrant smells and character to any garden area. There are many different types of arbors and trellises to meet every personal taste.