The Dream of a Wooden Pergola: An Oasis in My Garden
I have always wanted to have a wooden pergola, ever since I walked under a jasmine-covered pergola many years ago in Italy. That particular pergola was ancient, with weathered stone pillars and twisted timbers; it was very beautiful, as was the view down to Lake Como. But what I also remember clearly, besides the heady aroma of jasmine, was the shade it provided on a scorching hot day. It felt so good to be able to take a leisurely walk around the private garden and yet be shielded from the direct heat of the sun. At that moment, I thought that if I ever lived in a hot country and had a house with a garden, I would definitely have a pergola; it was my dream to live in warmer climes.
A Dream Come True: Relocating to Rural Spain
Well, that was many years ago and my dream finally came true when my family and I sold everything and moved to rural Spain. We bought an old country house near Pinoso in the Alicante region, equidistant from Jumilla, Yecla, and Fortuna. The house had wooden beams throughout and rough, undressed stone from the fields for walls. It was a lovely combination, and we fell in love with it at first sight. However, there was much work to be done in the renovation, and it was many years before we reached the point where the decision could be made to start the garden, which of course included a pergola.
Building the Pergola: A Process of Planning and Execution
After much hard work and rock clearing, we finally reached the point where the layout for the garden had been designed, and the pergola could be built. We wanted it to run around three sides of the garden so we could walk the perimeter and see the garden in full. The pergola would also serve as a natural boundary, allowing us to focus on what to plant and where to build the flower beds. So, to take advantage of the benefits of the pergola (keeping the heat of the day at bay), it needed to be in place before we could plant our climbing jasmine, honeysuckle, and bougainvillea, which would take a few seasons to become fully established.
Choosing Materials and Professionals: Guaranteeing Quality
We considered many options on how we thought the pergola should look and eventually agreed on a full timber construction to blend in with the house and surrounding countryside. It goes without saying that it needed to be solidly built with high-quality, treated timber. I knew enough to know that treated timber keeps wood-eating bugs away, but I didn’t have enough DIY skills to build a professional structure with shaped ends on the crossbeams. It was at that time that a friend recommended Woodworks Direct, a carpenter based close by on the Murcia border. They had built a wooden gazebo and carport for them, and they were very happy with their workmanship. I contacted them about the pergola, and within a month, their team arrived on-site and built it. And now, a few years later, our pergola is canopied with climbing plants, and we can walk the edge of our maturing garden without getting sunburnt. It’s worth planning out a garden before forging ahead, and having a pergola built will add a lovely feature to the finished article. I may not have an Italian lake to look down on, but I do have the perfume, the memories, and a garden I can be proud of. Maybe I’ll build a fish pond.
Take a look at their website for more information on the products that WoodWorks Direct could help you with www.woodworksdirect.com
