Trellises, Arbors & Pergolas: Ideas and Plans for Garden Structures

This is an excellent how-to book; great designs, clear instructions and easy to read text. This is a good book for the beginner thru the professional. I highly recommend it.

Trellises, Arbors & Pergolas: Ideas and Plans for Garden Structures (Better Homes & Gardens) I had been searching for a long time to find a suitable design for an arbor at the end of three converging pathways on a rustic portion of our property. I finally found the design I wanted at the bottom of page 9. I showed the design to our carpenter and he built an identical copy out of ipe. The result was so perfect, that I asked him to build a small pavilion in the same style on another part of our property. It also was elegant and sturdy. He commenced these projects in the middle of January in snowy, icy, windy, sub-freezing weather and finished both within about two or three weeks. I am now designing a 200-foot-long fence along two sides of our property in--you guessed it--the same style. If I ever figure out how to work my husband's new handycam I may be able to submit a video review. Useful book.

Good information on the different aspects of building the various landscape structures.

My husband and I had a landscape plan drawn up that included a pergola. Since my husband rebuilt part of our fence, he wanted to tackle the pergola himself. So, I bought him this book and he really loved it. The beginning of the book shows a variety of ideas for trellises, arbors and pergolas. Even if you're not going to build it yourself, the photos, drawings, and descriptions of styles may help you select or design one that you like and fits your house/yard. My favorite idea from the book was a trellis that goes over the garage door - what a neat idea! The next section of the book has all the necessary instructions and shows you how to build a number of these structures. This could come in handy if you decide to build it yourself. Section three offers some suggestions for plants that will climb up structure. The final portion of the book goes over the different types of tools you may need for your project. There are also drawings and descriptions to help the novice learn the basic building and wood-working skills needed for these projects. Although we haven't started our pergola yet, I'm sure this book will come in handy. We've definitely been enjoying looking through it to see what kind we might want!