Build a pergola above your terrace

Does your French house need a touch of something new? A simple idea to inject more character into your garden would be to build a pergola. It is one of the cheapest and easiest outside features to create, and looks like  a shaded walkway of pillars that support cross-beams and a lattice frame, spread with vines. It may also be an extension of a building’s door or a shelter above your terrace to  keep things cool. Indeed, the south of France often sees its summer temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees by 10 A.M. so a shelter made of plants would considerably refresh the covered area.

The convertible surface:

To build this type of shelter, you need planks, beams, nails… and vines! However, should your terrace be round it may be slightly harder to build a pergola there as it’s easy on a rectangular shaped terrace. Fortunately, it is still possible to convert other shaped pergolas, unless you have a particular project in mind. You will be able to creat a rounded pergola without any shadow of problem as long as your terrace has right angles. The problem is a circular terrace prevents you from using beams of the same size; they will never be of the same length on a circular terrace/space.

A step by step guide:

> To build a pergola, use solid square supports beams. Make sure your beams are thick enough and suited to supporting humidity, all the more so as they will bear plants which need water.

> Plant them into the ground (leaving approximately three quarters of the beam off the ground). Put a little cement into the hole you dug and drop soil before embedding the beams and make sure it is straight. Don’t put too much cement down as vines have to grow from this same hole! The quantity of cement should just stop the beam from moving.

> Once the beams are embedded, it is time to lay the planks to support the vines. Should you want to build a pergola by that angles slightly one way or the other, lay them as shown below:

Note the planks are fixed by a big nail on one side. Don’t forget a ring between the nail and the plank; otherwise the latter will rapidly damage the wood. The planks laid on the beams alongside the terrace are the same as the lean beams. Note that these ones are fixed to the framework of your house on the other side by the same type of nails.

Though it is easier to lay down planks on beams like so:

Either hammer the nails above the beam (as pictured above) or to the  side if the nails aren’t long enough.  The top beams are very heavy, so it would be better to put another beam on the other side to support the weight. That’s why this sort of pergola is ideal in a freestanding are of your garden  instead of your terrace because the beams would block the opening doors which give access to your terrace.

For both sorts of pergola, it is well advised to lay metal wire to support the vines. In fact, without wires, your plants or branches may interfere or even fall onto your covered space.

Ideas of plants for a pergola:

By combining flowers, fruits, foliage and perfume, you’ll see that not only climbing roses can decorate your  pergola.

• For the pleasure to see flowers on your pergola:

> Passion-flower

> Wisteria

> Clematis (it is well advised to protect the bottom of the plant from the sun with a small tree, a lavender bush, or tiles…)

> Climbing rose (classic plant for a pergola)

> Honeysuckle (a classic as well)

• To fill empty spaces:

> Akebia (flowers appear in April/May, ideal in a sunny area)

> Aristolochia (growing in a sunny or shaded area)

> Virginia creeper (sunlight determines the colour of leaves during autumn)

• For fruits:

> Kiwi

> Actinide (better in a warm area with space)

Now you are ready to build a pergola and enjoy it for your next summer holidays!