Rose Garden Structures - Page 2


© Mark Whitelaw
Page 2
... the Roses are trained either up or round it outside, or up a central support and then out at the top, from whence they fall over and cover the sides.

Still another adaptation of the pillar is called the parasol, what Ms. Jekyll described as

...the Rose umbrella, a way of training a free-growing standard that, though its evident elaboration of support does not commend it to people of simple taste, yet certainly does produce a wonderful show of bloom.

The parasol is essentially a wrought iron pillar with what is best described as an umbrella frame attached to the top. The rose is pillared around the central "trunk" then threaded and draped over the top, thus allowing the rose to cascade out of the top of the structure.

Horizontal rose forms are created using Trellises and their cousins, screens, walls, and fences. Although mostly known by their inexpensive replicas sold at home improvement centers, trellises can take any number of shapes - from square, to fan, to espaliers with unusual vertical, horizontal and diagonal designs. Again, from Ms. Jekyll,

The hedge or screen way of growing them has the merit of ease of access for training and pruning as well as that of giving close enjoyment of the living walls of flowers.

A combination of both vertical and horizontal forms is the arch and its cousin, the arbor. The chief difference between the two is the arch is a portal - a structure through which one passes and frequently includes a gate to another portion of the landscape. The arbor is a similar structure under which one remains. It frequently contains seating of some design. Generally, these structures are free standing and may or may not have a rounded top, a design originally employed by the Romans centuries ago.

A mistake made by many do-it-yourselfers is designing or purchasing an arch too small to be effectively used for the purpose it was intended. A good arch must be not less than 7 - 8 ft (2.5 m) tall. This permits the visitor to easily pass through the arch or stand up under the arbor. A good arbor should be at least 3 ft. (1 m) deep to permit comfortable seating.

Pergolas are best described as a series of connected arches which cover a path - a design borrowed from the Italians centuries before. Then, a pergola was a design similar to what the French call an alley or a highly trimmed shrub- or tree-enclosed path.

       

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages

10.   Mar 27, 1999 1:43 PM
Mark

I think you could pillar any climber as long as the pillar is high enough, and has a big enough diameter to bend the canes (as in your earlier comments). I pillar Zeph. D. and Kathleen H. - th ...


-- posted by NickHudd


9.   Mar 25, 1999 7:45 PM
Thank you all for your suggestions. I cannot wait to begin with this project. Perhaps we can all think in harmony and warm up the weather so things will grow faster! We are suffering from our frie ...

-- posted by Mark_P


8.   Mar 23, 1999 4:15 PM
I have more or less pillared the Dortmund by taking three 3'x8' trellisses and placing them in a triangle around the Dortmund then tying up the canes to the trellisses. This gives the pillaring effec ...

-- posted by WilliamG


7.   Mar 21, 1999 5:31 PM
Hi Mark!

That's a great question!

The biggest mistake most new rosarians make when trying to pillar a rose is using a post or column with too small a diameter. A small diameter post or column ca ...


-- posted by Mark_Whitelaw


6.   Mar 21, 1999 3:05 PM
I am interested in planting some pillar roses, can you suggest approximate demensions for a post or column? I'm thinking of using redwood to match my beds and trellis.

I have purchased Gertrude Jek ...


-- posted by Mark_P





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