Just wondering—has she said anything about not liking the vining plant? I can’t tell from the pics what it is. Just wondering because people often try to achieve that kind of full coverage for their pergolas, and it looks like it provides some nice shade. If she hasn’t said she dislikes them, I’d think carefully about removing them.

The vining plant attracts moisture and is causing the boards to rot. I think this is why she wanted to remove the vines. I agree. they do provide some nice coverage

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This is a nice thing to do, but why does it need to be a surprise? I think it would be much better to ask her what she would like. Personally I would not want someone to do things to my back yard without my input.

Is that a fountain I see in the back? Is it possible to check to see if it can be made functional?

It's a great time of the year to buy cushions so that's cheap...

I like the shade that the vine provides...maybe you can just cut it back rather than remove it? If you use pressure treated lumbar for the pergola, then it should be fine...it would definitely be my preference to have vines rather than shade cloth...

Clean up the gardens...but don't remove anything without posting good pictures on the gardening side of this forum...they'll let you know what to keep and what to save. I suggest getting natives for whatever area she's in.

A table and chairs is fine for eating, but it's always nice to have comfortable seating also...I don't know what size you're working with, but there's tons of sales for a loveseat and 2 chairs.