I'm wondering that too. Or any ideas for what to grow hardy for zone 5?

trumpet vine http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/356/royal-trumpet-vine.php#.ULrgroXy9i8 in california this vine is evergreen, with leaves all winter and blooms in spring/summer/fall. this one is lavendar. there is another trumpet vine that is equally hardy in tomato soup warm red.

The pergola is gorgeous and love how the vine grows. We just had a pergola built and love the decorative diagonal wood pieces on the pergola. Was that designed by you or where did you get those diagonal pieces in the pergola. Our pergola is 10 feet tall and thought those diagonal pieces would make it seem less tall. Thank you for the info on the vine.

the corbels that fill the 90* corner are in proportion to this pergola...which is about 14' tall. you could do a similar corbel or bracket in corner between post and beam...but scale it to your structure. even smaller ones that just fill the 90* corner can soften the look. you could cut cardboard templates to try til you are comfortable with the size, then have them cut by a carpenter. iron corbels look great too. the most important thing is the scale. good luck!

Thank you for the very helpful info! Will definitely do this and make sure it is to scale, definitely softens the look. Our yard is small and like the airiness of a tall pergola but wanted it cozy like the one here. Love everything you did to get this look. Thanks again!

you're welcome. send me a picture! you can go to my website and send an e mail from there (under contact)

Will do when I get the corbels done and get plantings done around the patio. Thanks again!

Are the corbels on both sides of the main post or just in front?

This coloring is very nice