Pergola or?

11 years ago

I'm in the thought process of what to put in the front walkway of my home. Currently we're digging up a little dry river creek that will run along side the sidewalk infront of the patio and will run off to the right side of the house for the overflooding during rain. The front just looks really plain and I was thinking of putting in a little bit of a cottage garden mixed with japanese garden feel, I love both and just can't pick between! Some plants that I really want are a bit picky and CAN grow in Central Florida but require more shade.

So my idea was to build/buy a pergola that would run parallel to the front walkway just as wide as the patio. I really want to grow a nice wisteria vine so figured it'd be a good to way include it in my yard, but I don't want the pergola attached to the house because of how invasive I've heard they could be. Will it look funny having posts that way, with its only purpose covering the garden? Or does anyone have other ideas that might work?

Comments (2)

PRO
Steven Laurin & Company
11 years ago
Ellusionx,

That flat-roofed addition off the left front facade is most unfortunate. Too bad the builder/designer of that add-on was not more sympathetic to the overall effect it has on your home.

With that said, for your intents and purposes of improving the curb appeal of your home, your idea of a pergola, will concentrate on accentuating the horizontal. For obvious reasons, this is a step in the right direction.

The difficult part of course, is to design a pergola that will provide an upgrade in appearance and an increase in functionality. You need to decide what to do to ensure success in this regard. I personally, do not think this venue to be appropriate.

Unless your finacial resources are extremely limited, I would suggest you contact a local landscape architect, or architect to assist you. The premium is not as costly as you may think.
kudzu9
11 years ago
I agree with archdiver that the flat-roofed addition is unfortunate, but I think a pergola set at the height of that roof would blend in and hide that one architectural flaw. The front does look really plain and a simple pergola would go a long way toward providing interest, especially if you had plantings along the outside edge of it. As for the clematis vine, I would not worry about its invasiveness: it will only be invasive if you never prune it.

Further, the design and expense of the pergola may be greater if you don't attach it to the house. I assume that you are thinking of using those metal brackets that go in concrete in the ground to support the posts of the pergola. Those brackets can not be used to support a free-standing structure from both a strength issue and a code issue because they do not have sufficient strength to prevent side sway (and/or collapse) in a strong wind. To be legal in almost any code-covered area of the country, any structure such as a pergola must be attached to something more stable (such as your house) if you are going to use brackets; or, you must cement longer poles directly into the ground, which is both a greater cost and an issue with termites in you part of the country.
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