Add a little drama to your green space with these beautiful ideas.
With the weather warming up, it's time to turn your attention from interior projects to exterior ones, such as cleaning out your flower beds and updating your garden spaces. There's no better way to update your outdoor living area than by adding some height and drama to your space, like with garden arbors and arches. They offer practical (and decorative) ways to transform any backyard, enhancing transition areas and providing your climbing plants with something on which to grow.
So, should you go with an arbor or an arch? Before you decide, it's important to understand the difference between the two. While both are similar in design, a garden arbor normally has a section of trellis to it to make it easier for climbing plants to grow up and over the top. They can be made from a variety of materials, although wood, which is long-lasting and easy to paint or stain, tends to be the most common. Arches, on the other hand, are typically thinner, less decorative structures.
If you're purchasing an arch or arbor for your garden, make sure you're not only taking into consideration whether or not the arbor will fit, but that you're also thinking of how well the plants you want to grow alongside of it will fare in the area's sunlight and soil conditions. Once you've set up your arbor and planted your plants, it will be a whole lot harder to relocate it if better growing conditions are needed. Ahead, find pretty and practical garden arbor and arch ideas to spruce up your space.
All-Weather and Year-Round
A solid structure like this one will withstand both the weather and the test of time. This piece has plenty of places for climbing vines to grab onto and is a gorgeous option.
Gated
If you are looking for a gated arbor, then you'll want to check out this piece. The metal arbor has intricate scrollwork and comes with a swinging, double-hung gate. It'll be perfect for all types of climbing vines you'll want to plant.
Maintenance Free
This white PVC arbor looks a lot like a mini pergola and is perfect paired with a climbing vine or used by itself as a statement piece. Best of all, the PVC materials make this arbor truly maintenance-free. It'll never rust or require a fresh coat of paint. Set it up and enjoy it for years to come.
Minimalist and Lean
Located in one of Martha's own gardens, this clean and simple arch is just the thing to let your plants truly shine. With negative space for optimal views of your incredible landscape, it's perfect for a gardener with a major green thumb.
Sculpted Greenery
Growing a hedge over your metalwork archway is a beautiful way to add shapes and depth to your garden. This one grows vines above a wooden door for a breathtaking wild-yet-manicured look.
Connecting Trees
Perhaps one of nature's wonders, guiding trees and branches to grow in an arch shape can be done either on accident or on purpose. We love the idea of having real, live branches create a serene arbor in this garden.
A Planters Option
Another arbor with a pergola design that is perfect as a standalone structure, this one is made of red cedar, which is naturally rot-resistant. Unlike the other items featured here, this one comes with two planters. Plant climbing vines in the attached planters and take a rest under the canopy they create.