Garden Blog - Blog Post

Pergola Progress

4 comments

Over Christmas and all during the limbo period between Christmas Day and New Year, we’ve been building the pergola. It’s consumed the daylight hours. There has been the odd “day off” when the weather has been really bad but otherwise, it feels like it’s all we’ve been doing. We’re getting close to the end now.

After the initial section was up and free-standing, the rest of the pergola followed relatively well. There were some difficulties in getting the pergola top rails to generally work with the gradual slope of the garden and while the lean and kinks are obvious now, I’m hoping they’ll gradually start to become hidden as the whole structure is overwhelmed with climbing plants.

Our arms ache from lifting the heavy pieces from the front through to the back and then either hoisting up or lifting overhead into place. It feels like similar pieces have just become heavier as the days have worn on. I remember being somewhat frustrated and glad one morning when it had rained heavily overnight and we couldn’t work outside because there was standing water in the border edges and the whole garden was distinctly “squelchy”.

We’ll be finishing off the structure in the next few days, I hope, and then all that remains is to ensure the rafters are in the right places, decide what to do with all the pegs and then figure out how to fill in the gaps where the hole and tenon measurements weren’t great, leaving gaps for water to collect. There’s also a few cavities to fill, the wood to clean and preserve, staddle stones to clean, general making-good of the grass and strip along the fence and so on. I also need to find a bench or two to put in the middle.

At the moment I’m so focussed on getting the pergola finished that I haven’t paid much attention to the Holidays and Festive period, especially as we are in a UK Tier 4 area, which has meant that we weren’t allowed to have outside help to build the pergola – one of the reasons it has taken some time.

The pergola is a rather imposing piece; even when standing underneath it, it feels lofty. Despite being new, it already feels part of the garden because the Tibetan cherry, ornamental cherry and Rhododendron hedge are growing into it, once the climbers grow all over it, it might not even be visible.

The work continues.

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Sunil Patel

I'm Sunil Patel, this is me. I created the Garden at 13 Broom Acres and I open it to visitors. I also bake and write blog posts giving a "behind the scenes" look into what it's like to maintain such a garden.

Visit the blog, then come and visit the garden. We can have a good sit-down, a jolly chinwag and a relaxing cup of tea with a sinfully generous slice of home made cake.

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4 comments

Lynn Hunt 30/12/2020 - 6:49 pm

Wow, it looks fabulous, Sunil. You two have done a wonderful job. Happy New Year to you and Gareth. Can’t wait to see the pergola covered in blooms!

Reply
Sunil 31/12/2020 - 7:45 pm

Thanks, Lynn. Happy New Year to you too. The best bit about the pergola is yet to come – choosing all the plants that will be scrambling up it. I’m really looking forward to that after all the hard work.

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casa mariposa 03/01/2021 - 11:58 pm

That is amazing!!! I love it! It will perfectly balance the hedge on the other side of the garden. I can hardly wait to see the next time I come to England, which probably won’t be til 2022. It’s going to be spectacular covered in vines.

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Sunil 04/01/2021 - 2:56 pm

Thanks Tammy, I can’t wait until the next time you’re over here too! We will all sit under it and sip tea or slurp wine!

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