Arch is a decorative garden ornament that gives it a romantic character. Mostly garden arches are used to decorate paths. You can install an arch in some part of the garden, or divide it into zones for recreation, for receiving guests and for agriculture. The options for arches and their placement in the garden will be discussed in the article.
Garden Arch
Most often garden arches are made of wood, metal or colored bricks. They are designed to have an attractive appearance not only in summer, but also at any time of the year. In addition, decorative garden arches must have a certain strength and withstand any gusts of wind. The simplest arch can be made by bending a metal wire at the top and fixing it between the supports. It is more difficult to make such structures from wood, plastic, stone or brick. Many creative people like to create the look of the "Through the Looking Glass" effect in their garden plots - by making arches of stones in the form of portals.
Recently especially popularforged and metal garden arches that can serve more than one generation of owners. Their only drawback is metal corrosion. Therefore, in order for the arch to have a respectable appearance, it is necessary to regularly renew the anti-corrosion coating and paint. In their form, the arches for the garden are different - their choice dictates the surrounding style. They can be semicircular, straight, pointed and gothic. The height of such a structure in the garden is from two and a half to three meters. The tallest person is supposed to pass under it without touching their head.
Using arches
There are many ways to decorate and personalize your site. One popular option in gardens is the arched door, made from thick tree branches. An example of such a door is in the photo below. This design gives the garden area an aura of elegance and romance.
Garden arch for climbing plants is often used to create an original tunnel over garden paths, and can also serve as an entrance to a recreation area or a kind of corner with garden furniture placed inside. In addition, arches are good if you need to visually hide some of the shortcomings of the buildings in the garden. Garden designers advise using climbing roses, creepers, clematis and arched grapes to decorate arches.
Materials for arches
Since the cost of making, building or purchasing garden arches in a speci alty store is almost exorbitant, it is quite common for home craftsmen to make them with their own hands. Collectarch is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. The main thing is that it fits organically into the style of the garden plot.
Metal garden arches are the most reliable in operation. Made of wood, the arches are in perfect harmony with Provence and rustic landscape styles. But they are vulnerable to pests and do not tolerate temperature extremes. Therefore, the tree must be selected from hard varieties, and treated with antiseptic agents. Arches made of bricks, stones and concrete look wonderful. But this is not the ultimate dream of home designers, their fantasies know no bounds in the ability to combine different materials.
Creating a metal arch
If you decide to create a garden arch with your own hands, the first thing to start with is to choose its shape and size, providing a height convenient for passage. Do not forget to add length to the rods that will be deepened into the ground. If the arch is made by home craftsmen who own welding, from fittings and metal corners, the amount of material will depend on the shape of the structure.
Racks for the arch will serve as corners, to which the crossbars from the reinforcement are welded. The installation of an arch made of metal is carried out in a prepared place. Its base must be concreted. Before painting, the metal arch must be degreased and coated with an anti-corrosion agent. Because of their versatility, metal arches are suitable for all styles.
Garden arch option fromtree
Wooden arches are made from pine lumber that has been impregnated to resist decay. The work will require bars, boards and rounded blanks. Wooden arches can be divided into several popular types: traditional, oriental, rustic, decorative.
To create a traditional design, you need pine or larch bars with a minimum cross section of 10x10 cm. Work should begin with the installation of supports. To do this, a well is dug, the bottom of which is filled with a layer of broken stones or bricks (drainage). The lower part of wooden supports must be impregnated with resin or bitumen. This will protect it from rot.
Then the well is filled with concrete. You need to work with a level to check the vertical installation of the supports. At the base of the support, it is necessary to create a conical shape of concrete to prevent the accumulation of rainwater. The design sets 7-10 days. After that, you can proceed to the next stage - assembly.
According to the design of the arch, all fastening work is carried out to assemble the sidewall and top parts. Fasteners must be treated with special glue so that water does not penetrate into them in the future.
Arches made from living natural material
A rather interesting and attractive option is to create arches from tree branches and tall shrubs that grow in the garden. The main condition for the device of this design is the presence of solid supports and spars (the main elements of the frame), consisting of metal rods. This design has a long life. It remains to choose the right plants. If it is a shrub, then its branches should be strong, he althy and flexible.
The arch created from willow lashes looks beautiful. This design is perfect for organizing a recreation area, inside which there is a table, armchairs, chairs. To create an arch, you need to prepare willow branches and plant them at the base of the supports. Willow grows quickly, so this design will delight households for the next season. Yes, and as the trees grow, it will be possible to remove the supports. Willow branches at the base are quite strong.
Plastic arches
Plastic architecture is also used in garden arches. Plastic refers to cheap materials, so it does not need to be processed, painted, varnished.
The minus in the manufacture of plastic arches is that the product may not always remain in place throughout the year. Many manufacturers produce low-quality plastic, which is sub-zero temperatures. Thus, the design of the arch for the winter period should be disassembled and folded for storage in a barn or garage.
All the designs of arches listed in the article, depending on their location, can change the design of the garden plot, acting as an independent design element, and as an addition to the plant composition.
