subject: So Your Pergola Is Built - What Now? [print this page] Ahhhh, just so beautiful, pergolas are always a classic touch you can add to your front or back garden, from small archways to larger gazebo style. You can add roofs to them for weatherproofing and turning almost into a separate room, have different plants grow up them, put furniture under them, they become a real piece of you home in such a short time. And it can be so difficult with all the amazingly beautiful ways to design and decorate them to choose how to go about it.
I guess you would start with your personal style, do you like the old classic romantic look, or are you a fan of clean lines and modern shapes; maybe you just prefer comfort in an organized chaos sort of way. Do you love flowers just growing wild all over the place? Maybe your idea of a perfect afternoon is sitting under a roofed archway reading quietly. No matter which description you connect with more there is a design just for you!
The flowers... what flowers are best for ipe pergolas?? Honeysuckle, I believe one of Winnie the Poohs favorites, this is a great choice they are not too heavy so they will not put too much pressure on the structure. They grow very fast and continue growing all through the summer and fall, and they need to be kept pruned back regularly. But these are such beautiful and fragrant flowers to have in your garden attracting birds and honey bees. Another really cool plant option for your pergolas would be planting a kiwi plant, there are male and female kiwi plants, planting just the male will leave you with a beautiful plant and no fruit. But if you want a fruit plant then plant both the male and female kiwi plant at the same time and check with your nursery you purchase them from, they must bloom together.
As for the worst flowers, well thats a hard one, its not that one may be the worst just that some can grow to be very heavy and put lots of pressure on your wood structure. Take the wisteria; if you already have them in your home it would be good to put a pergola near the location so they can climb up that wood instead of you home as they do have a tendency to damage home structures. The vines of the wisteria plant are more like trees becoming over time as they grown heavier and heavier, but if you already have them you will know that they are beautiful fragrant flowers. Other beautiful flowers are the Hydrangeas, they love crawling up the posts of pergolas, but you have to be patient as it can take at least 3 years for the plants white flower to appear and the aerial rootlets can stain your wood.
Now, adding a roof, there are definite benefits to adding a roof, some people want a roof to block the rain or give shade. Some build a larger ipe pergola and want to have a roof over the top to build a room underneath. So what is the best type of roof?? One to choose from would be plexi-glass; the great thing about plexi-glass is that if you live in a warmer location they have specially designed glass to help keep sunlight from overheating the room. Also, they have other styles that are 100% see through so it does not block the beautiful sun and clouds in the sky.
Before you decide to either add a roof to your pergola or have beautiful vines crawling up it you will want to make sure that your structure is solid and the best thing about building an ipe pergola is that the wood will naturally be weather and insect resistant!
