Gardens Outdoor Fine Woodworking

V

ine fever caught me early. My

garden dreams were draped and

swagged in clematis, roses, and

honeysuckle. Out in the garden, I crammed

vines onto every inch of fence and over

every available structure, whether shrub,

picket, or trellis. Still, it was clear that the

extravagant roses and muscular wisteria

I craved would overwhelm any ordinary

garden structure.

These thoughts continued to bubble

along in my subconscious until a trip to

England provided an unexpected piece

of inspiration. While visiting the charming

garden adjacent to a small Somerset nurs-

ery, I was struck by the beauty and utility

of a simple wooden arbor through which

the garden path passed. Its rustic good

looks complemented the whole garden,

and the billowing roses appeared sublime-

ly content. Happily, Bruce, my spouse and

chief garden engineer, was with me and

took pictures of the structure, including

the construction details.

Getting the posts right is essential

Once home, we saw that the obvious place

to build our own arbor was along the east

boundary of our property. There, it would

complete the circle of our backyard de-

sign, adding privacy. The spot we chose is

unusual in that it occupies slightly sloping

ground. Books advised us that the arbor

location needed to be level, but because

level does not exist on our two acres, we

decided to position the arbor where we

Simple construction

for a shady place to relax

by Frances Wenner

Easy Arbor

Beautiful and

utilitarian. This

unpretentious arbor

provides backyard

privacy and planting

opportunities galore.

thought it would look at home and hoped

for the best.

We took careful measurements, pur-

chased lumber and hardware (see the

materials list on p. 36), and rented a

gas-powered auger. We decided to use

pressure-treated lumber for the arbor be-

cause of its weather resistance. Cedar or

redwood would have been good looking

and durable enough but also considerably

more expensive.

Before beginning construction, we dug

14 holes for the 10-ft. 4x4 posts in two rows

of seven, to a depth of 2 ft., which is just

beneath the frost line in our area. Check

local codes to determine the frost line in

your area and sink the posts beneath it. We

used the rented power auger to save time

and effort, but a muscle-powered post-

hole digger or shovel would have done

the job. We set the posts in two rows, 11 ft.

apart. As we went, we measured to make

sure the top of each post was precisely

8 ft. above ground, ensuring that the arbor

followed the contour of the land.

The posts were spaced 8 ft. apart on cen-

ter and topped with 8-ft.-long 2x4 horizon-

tal supports. The supports were laid wide

side down, meeting in the center of the

tops of the posts. We tacked the supports

to hold them in place and then added the

facings. The facings were also 8-ft.-long

2x4s, one board for each horizontal sup-

port, placed flush with the top outside

edge of the horizontal support. Once all

of the supports and facings were tacked

garden projects

OUTDOOR PROJECTS 35

FWSIP27OP-WE.indd 35 1/30/13 5:33 PM