By Lindsay Bond Totten
Scripps Howard News Service Nothing entices one to go outside quite as persuasively as an outdoor "room." Go figure. Gardeners leave the confines of their homes to embrace the fresh air and sunshine. But when we want to relax, it's enclosure we seek out. Visitors and guests feel most comfortable there, too. Garden enclosures are as ancient as gardens themselves. The Romans built shaded arbors to escape from the hot sun. Within these cool walls, people could be both indoors and outdoors at the same time. No structure creates an outdoor room quite as effectively as a pergola. Even non-gardeners are getting into the act, building patios and porches covered by open-beamed ceilings. They're nice spaces to live in, as anyone who owns one or enjoys being outdoors can tell you. Gardeners, however, possess the special skills needed to turn pergolas into lovely garden "rooms." "Pergola" (pronounced PURR-ga-la) is rather a catchall term today. It used to signify a covered path or walkway, typically a series of connected arches overgrown with vines. Out of necessity, the concept has come to include structures of post-and-beam design, often rectangular or square, freestanding or attached to a permanent wall. No other term in the English lexicon quite serves the purpose. "Pavilion" is too grand. "Trellis" and "arbor" are inadequate. Call it a "lanai" if you wish, but that would limit its placement to porch or veranda. A "gazebo" is a small, geometrically shaped out-building, hexagonal, octagonal or occasionally round, strategically placed so visitors can "gaze" out over an especially fine vista. Nothing else quite fits, so "pergola" has been adapted to fill the void. Attached directly to the house, pergolas serve as a gracious transition between house and garden. Without a solid roof, they're not quite as versatile as a covered porch, but relaxed "alfresco" dining is possible most summer evenings. A freestanding pergola, strategically placed in the garden, is as much a focal point as it is a destination. Tables and chairs -- more so than a statue -- encourage gardeners and guests to walk out into the garden to enjoy another view. Freestanding pergolas can also serve as a vertical element in an otherwise flat yard. It's hard to say why a pergola is so evocative. I think it combines both the visual and physical sensations of passing from bright, glaring sunshine into the dappled shade created by a canopy of foliage. A pergola not covered by vines isn't nearly as enticing as one that is. The coolness within is especially welcome on a hot summer day. Pergolas can be built from many types of materials, but all should be of sturdy construction, with piers sunk deeply into the ground. If attached to the house, try repeating some element of the home -- stone, brick, stucco -- in the uprights. Overhead beams can be crafted from ornamental iron, tubular metal, or wood, depending on the style of the house. Freestanding pergolas are typically built entirely out of wood, with detailing in the posts and beams a matter of personal taste. Latticework along one or more sides can be added to enclose the structure even more or to screen an unattractive view. Consider the height carefully, allowing plenty of headroom. The pergola shouldn't feel cramped. Take into account that blossoms or fruits from overhead vines are likely to hang down below the beams, effectively reducing the height of the ceiling and making it uncomfortable for taller guests. Posts and beams represent an opportunity for gardeners to turn a pergola into an oasis of color and charm. Traditionally, these structures were covered with grape vines, but other varieties may prove more practical. (Grapes usually require multiple pesticide sprays, and the ripening fruits, while aromatic, are messy and may attract bees and wasps.) Wisteria is a lovely choice -- very Southern. Vines dripping with racemes of fragrant lavender or white blooms in early summer will quickly cover the top of a pergola. Just be aware that wisteria is aggressive and requires frequent pruning throughout the season. A bit more polite, though still extraordinarily vigorous, are sweet autumn clematis, trumpet vine and hardy kiwi vine. A robust climbing rose, such as "William Baffin," will make it up the post of a 7-foot pergola and across the top in two to three seasons. Japanese climbing hydrangea vine is an elegant climber, though it begs a gardener's patience. In a natural setting, Virginia creeper turns a pergola into a shaded woodland retreat. (Lindsay Bond Totten, a horticulturist, writes about gardening for Scripps Howard News Service.)
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