Upgrade your garden with a pergola

What is a pergola?

Pergolas are outdoor structures with vertical beams that support a roof, which is usually latticed or covered completely for shelter. They are available as freestanding structures, or wall-mounted to attach to your outside walls.

Garden pergolas are open-sided, so you can enjoy the fresh air and feel the welcome breeze. They’re most popularly used for covering garden tables & chairs for outstanding outdoor dinners, or sheltering lounge sets to make your garden a summertime destination!

Types of garden pergola

Wooden pergolas

Any garden feature made from wood is going to blend in nicely with its surroundings, and a wooden garden pergola is a brilliant opportunity to add some personality to your outside space.

Not only will it give you the traditional latticed appearance, but you can customise your pergola to suit your style. Choose your perfect shade of exterior wood paint to match your furniture or surroundings for a satisfying garden setup.

Metal pergolas

A metal pergola is a strong and low-maintenance option for dressing up your garden. By using a metal frame, many of these pergolas have retractable canopies so you can choose how sheltered you want to be; from covering up in the midday sun to spending evenings under the stars.

Pergola with a roof

A pergola with a roof will protect your garden furniture from rain and UV rays, perfect for heavy garden sofas or anything too big to fit in the shed! However, as most pergolas have open sides, we’d still recommend using your garden furniture covers if you’re expecting bad weather.

Most pergolas with roofs will be retractable, giving you full control over the shelter on your patio.

Benefits of buying a pergola

They make a beautiful feature in your garden

Spending time outside with friends and family is a highlight of summer, and a pergola frames your patio area beautifully. You can use it as a place to eat on a dining set after a summer BBQ, or throw in some garden seating options for a place to relax.

Whether it’s a classic wooden pergola with lattice design or a sleek metal one with a canopy, a pergola is a stylish garden structure to have.

Shade & shelter

Unlike a gazebo, a pergola offers more air flow and more dappled shade for keeping yourself protected during the long summer days. A pergola with a roof will offer more protection from the sun and rain.

Privacy

If you’re in a built-up area, a pergola can provide a certain amount of privacy for when you’re lounging in your garden, depending on the style!

Support for climbing plants

A wooden pergola lends itself beautifully to plant life, and you can make a stunning centrepiece in your garden with climbing plants. Flower seeds such as sweet peas, as well as shrubs like climbing roses, love to climb up the vertical supports of your pergola and add some natural flair to your patio – as well as a burst of colour in Spring and Summer.

Pop your pots next to one of your pergola’s legs and ‘train’ your climbing plants to wrap themselves around your pergola by using some garden canes whilst they’re small. Once they’re established, the only way is up!

Embrace your outdoor space with a pergola

Once the pergola is up, the real fun begins: making it your own! You can think of your pergola as an extension of your living space, and there’s lots of options for customisation.

Outdoor dining

A garden pergola creates a stunning backdrop for your al fresco dining, whether you keep it low-key with a simple bistro set for relaxed lunches or get everyone round the table with a picnic bench, you’ll want to eat every meal outside… even when it rains!

Summertime seating

Relaxing with friends and family under the pergola sounds like a lovely way to spend the day, and you can throw some personality into your pergola with stylish accessories like blankets and outdoor cushions to make everyone as comfy as possible.

When the sun goes down, adding a patio heater will keep everyone toasty, and decorating your pergola with solar lights creates a wonderful ambience to wow your guests.

Health and fitness

During the day, why not use your pergola for some outdoor exercise? It’s a relaxing place to do some yoga, work up a sweat with fitness equipment, or simple morning stretches. Breathing in the fresh air does wonders for our minds and bodies, and the privacy that your pergola can provide makes it a good place to keep fit.

Maintaining your pergola

Pergolas are outdoor structures and are designed to be hardwearing against the best and worst of the weather. However, like most things that are open to the elements, a little upkeep will help your pergola look better and lost longer.

For wooden pergolas, we would recommend treating it with some varnish every year (or as often as the instructions tell you) to keep it protected against drying out. You could also use exterior paint or stain if you wanted to customise the look of your pergola and make it yours.

Metal pergolas are very durable and don’t require quite as much upkeep, but you should keep an eye on any canopies and moving parts to keep them in good nick. Metal paint can be used on any areas prone to rusting over time.