Review author: Terrari School of Design
The garden arch serves as an original option for decorating the area near the house. It not only gives the landscape individuality, but also significantly saves usable space.
In addition to being decorative, an arch for plants in the garden also has a functional purpose:
- acts as a reliable support for climbing plants;
- serves as a supporting structure for a gate, hammock or lighting lantern;
- helps to highlight functional areas in the local area.
It’s easy to make a universal garden arch with your own hands, using a competent approach to work at all its stages.
Work should begin with a detailed study of the design of the arched structure, taking into account all the requirements that it must meet.
Functionality of the structure
At its core, an arch is nothing more than an independent, most often single, multifunctional structure. Its purpose depends entirely on the design of the landscape designer:
- It may be a solid structure made of stone,
- Complementing the landscape,
- Or lightweight design
- A single element of the landscape or an addition to plant compositions, emphasizing the natural beauty of nature.
Quite often, shady alleys are created from several arches arranged in a row, entwined with various kinds of plants - for example, wild grapes.
An arch can serve as a support for a swing or divide the garden into certain zones; it can simply be a gazebo covered with plants - a place for romantic dates. In winter, an arch entwined with garland will help create a festive atmosphere.
Product characteristics
When planning to install an arch on his site, the owner must know several basic requirements for such products:
- The arch must be made of a material that can withstand any vagaries of weather;
- Regardless of whether it is entwined with plants or not, the product must have an aesthetic appearance and organically fit into the surrounding landscape;
- When making a garden arch for climbing plants, it is necessary to take into account the growth of family members with a margin for possible sagging of plant stems.
Manufacturing and operation
DIY garden arch - diagram
The design of a stationary arch includes the following elements: foundation, vertical columns (walls) and arched ceiling. A columnar concrete foundation has a depth depending on the size and weight of the structure and usually does not exceed 30-40 cm.
The arch can have different sizes depending on the purpose of the building, but on average its dimensions are chosen within the following limits: height - 2-3 m, opening width - 1.3-1.6 m, depth - 10-75 cm.
The easiest way to make a pergola-shaped arch is from wood. To do this, you need to prepare 4 (possibly 6) beams measuring (7-10) x (7-10) cm and 2 m long. They are installed vertically, secured to the above foundation or without pouring concrete, but with good soil compaction and backfilling with crushed stone. In the latter case, the depth is 60-80 cm. The underground part of the beams is treated with an antiseptic and covered with bitumen. Crossbars and cross beams are attached to these racks. The crossbars can be made from 20x2 cm boards.
A garden arch is easy to make, but can decorate any area. Good luck to you!
Dimensions of the structure
As a matter of fact, the size directly depends on the functions assigned to the arch. If it serves only a decorative function, it can be small, and vice versa - a large and tall arch can serve as a support, for example, to create a shadow. And again, you need to decide whether people can pass under it.
There are no special requirements for dimensions, but most often for garden plots, arches are made in the following sizes:
- The total height is from 3.2 to 4 meters, of which about 0.7 meters is dug into the ground.
- The width of the product is about 1.5 meters.
Clematis
The plant looks spectacular on arches and is easy to care for. You can use several varieties at once to decorate the structure.
Designers use clematis for vertical gardening. Plants create bright spots in the openings of arches and combine well with other colors.
Places for accommodation
By and large, an arch in the garden can be installed anywhere, as long as it is in place and it does not look isolated in the overall landscape. As an option, an arch can be used to disguise any technical devices or outbuildings.
Arches look good over a gate, and also as an entrance to any separate area of the garden.
What can an arch be made from?
Looking at the photo of a garden arch, you can see that the appearance of these products depends on the imagination of the master; the most important thing is that they fit organically into the environment. And to do this, you should select the most suitable material for each case and decide on the dimensions.
The materials usually used are plastic, brick, stone, metal and wood.
Made of plastic
PVC is mainly used, since it is quite easy to purchase; even pipes will do.
Plastic has a fairly wide range of colors, is easy to process and can be painted, and assembling a structure from plastic pipes is not at all difficult. But products made from this material are not durable: in winter, it is advisable to put the product indoors, and in summer keep it away from open fire.
In addition, arches made of plastic are very light, and accordingly, their stability is not very good, especially for sheet plastic. Therefore, the purpose of plastic arches is mainly decorative.
Materials
The owner of the site can create a light and beautiful arch. To do this, you need to take care of the materials. The product can be made of wood, metal, stone, plastic. Other materials and improvised means are also used for it.
Made of wood
The easiest way to build an arch is to use wood as a material, and even cut branches of the required size and diameter are quite suitable. The product will easily fit into almost any landscape.
The only drawback is the fragility of the material: if you do not use larch as the starting material, then all other species require additional treatment with an antiseptic, varnish or paint.
Made of brick and stone
The most durable materials are brick and stone. True, the construction of an arch from these materials will have to be entrusted to professionals.
- Such structures are usually very monumental in appearance, resistant to winds and other weather phenomena.
- They can be a decoration for the site in themselves, but stone arches entwined with plants are simply irresistible.
Made of metal
Another material often used when making arches for plants in the garden is metal. The material is almost eternal if you follow certain simple rules, and this means timely processing in the form of priming and painting, unless, of course, stainless steel is used.
Both very simple structures and quite complex, openwork ones, using forging and welding, can be made from metal. Such garden arches made of metal look very impressive, creating a special atmosphere in the area.
Zoning
Today, the division of territory into zones is no longer done using solid fences. This solution is a thing of the past.
Arched structures came to the rescue. They don’t just divide the area, they make it functional. This means that each part will carry out the task that is assigned to it: a vegetable garden, a local area, a recreation area, etc., while looking beautiful.
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And most importantly, it is quite possible to make a garden arch with your own hands.
Making an arch yourself
The simplest and most uncomplicated designs can be made from scrap materials - wood, metal wire and plastic pipes; working with more serious materials like stone or metal will require certain skills or help from professionals.
Option #1
To create the simplest arch, you will need several metal or plastic pipes with couplings and a mesh, preferably with a plastic coating.
- Pipes are used as supports; the structure can be given a curved or U-shape.
- The supports are installed in two rows, parallel to each other at a short distance, with a mesh tied between them.
- Upon completion of work, the structure should be primed and painted.
When opened, this is certainly not a masterpiece, but all the shortcomings will be hidden by climbing plants, glycines or clematis, and climbing roses will look very impressive.
Option No. 2
Larch and cedar are the best materials for arches intended for climbing roses. But if larch can still be purchased, then problems may arise with cedar.
These species can be replaced with conifers: pine or spruce, although they will have to be pre-treated with an antiseptic. During assembly, components and parts are fastened with screws or dowels, and the finished structure is secured to metal pins that act as supports.
Option #3
An arch made in a rough rustic style looks very interesting.
- It is made from untreated straight-trunk wood - birch, spruce or fir.
- Trunks with a diameter of about 75 mm are best suited as supports, and for bevels it is more convenient to use thinner trunks or branches with a diameter of up to 35 mm.
- The parts are connected using screws or nails; upon completion of the work, the product is covered with stain, if necessary, and, without fail, with varnish.
After this, the arch can be installed.
Kinds
There are several types of arches for a garden or cottage:
- Classic (top in the form of a hemisphere or oval).
- Triangular.
- Romance (the edges of the top are rounded).
- Portal (top edges sharp).
- Trapezoid.
- Modern (ellipse).
- Half-arch.
All these decorative elements differ in the width of the opening and shape. In one interior you can combine several types of structures, and even combine one with another, for example, modern with a semi-arch.
Selection of plants
Of course, the arch, if it is not just an additional element of the landscape, must be designed accordingly so as not to look like a black sheep in the surrounding plant world. And only then can it be considered a full-fledged decoration of the garden.
Climbing plants are mainly used to frame arches, although this is not at all necessary.
Most often you can find girlish grapes in decoration.
- The plant is extremely unpretentious; in summer the foliage is green, in autumn it turns dark crimson.
- Clematis, which have a wide variety of varieties, and climbing roses are winter-hardy varieties that bloom all summer.
- Honeysuckle, ivy and sea anemone look no less beautiful.
By and large, you can use any climbing plants, no matter whether they are flowering or not, it is even possible to use fruit-bearing plants - it all depends on what vision the owner has for the garden.
An arch of even the simplest design, with the right location and a successful combination of plants, will always be one of the most ideal elements of landscape and garden design. This can be seen in numerous photos of the arch in the garden posted on the Internet.
Functions and features of construction
Basic construction rules:
- The height of the structure should be such that even tall people can pass through it without bending down. The recommended size is at least two meters.
- If decorative climbing plants will grow on the building, then the width of the structure should not be less than 1.3 meters. Otherwise, the greenery, growing, will give it a sloppy, neglected look.
- The design must be attractive. In winter there will be no flowers and greenery, and if it is not beautiful, then the overall impression of the site will be ruined.
The decorative element performs many functions:
- Support for plants.
- Zoning of space.
- It can be a support for other architectural elements (benches, swings) or part of a fence or gate.
- Performs the functions of lighting supports.
- A wide structure, entwined with greenery, can serve as a gazebo, and a group of arches (pergola) can serve as a picturesque passage.
