Arches, Arbours & Tunnels

The legs at the base of our arches are 40cm (16in) long, and pushing them a minimum of 20–25cm (8–10in) into the ground is mostly enough to hold the structure firmly although we recommend pushing the arch in up to the first rung to make it level and stable. In loose soil or where extra security is needed, we recommend fixing the feet in Postcrete, an easy-to-use form of concrete that sets in 5–10 minutes.

These garden structures all have a family resemblance. An arch is the simplest, and just what its name implies. Ours come as single (30cm/1ft deep) or double (60cm/2ft deep). Adapt a deep arch to shelter a seat and you have an arbour (as its name suggests, the original shelter would have been a tree). A pergola takes the idea one step further, supporting a living canopy of green broad and deep enough to accommodate anything from a tea table and a couple of deckchairs to a full-sized dining table. Alternatively, a pergola can span a walkway to create a feature similar to a plant tunnel but more open. All are great additions to a garden.

Lots of scope here. Arches invite you to pass under them or to sit beneath them. We have made arches to frame doors and gates, to go over garden seats, to create a link between one part of a garden and another. An arch can be incorporated into a run of hedge or wall, or it makes a very pleasing standalone feature, giving height and interest to an otherwise flat area. These roles all call for single arches, but you could also use a series of arches to create the effect of a tunnel or pergola – maybe even recreate something similar to Rosemary Verey’s iconic laburnum tunnel!

Typically, a garden arch is asked to support quite a weight. A mature rose or honeysuckle is especially heavy, but any climber, once it is large enough to cover an arch, will put a strain on its support. Flimsy plastic or bamboo will never cut the mustard, and although wood and tubular steel may be satisfactory for a number of years, they will buckle or break in time. Particularly if they have been bolted together in sections! You then face the problem of attempting to replace the support without damaging or killing the plants. This is why we choose to make all our arches and tunnels of solid mild steel, which has the strength to last a lifetime.

By nature, climbing roses will shoot straight upwards and then flower at the top, leaving a lot of usually uninteresting leggy stems. To avoid this, encourage them to grow in a series of horizontals, so that flowering starts much lower down and the arch is more fully dressed. I’ve described how this is done in more detail, with lots of further tips, here. When deciding on the dimensions of your arch, remember to take into account the roses’ bushiness once they are established, which will reduce both the width and height under the arch.