A Pergola Restoration Project
A transformation project begins at my farm.
Soon after moving to my property, I built a winding 300-foot pergola along one side of a carriage road leading to my home. Under it, I dug six-foot-wide beds and a grassy footpath. Supporting the wooden beams are antique granite posts from China originally used as grape supports. Every year, this area blooms with beautiful color. In May, a palette of lavender, violet, purple, and blue Camassias, alliums, croci, clematis, muscari, and others. Later in summer, hundreds of orange tiger lilies fill the border gardens. Now, as part of a restoration project, I am replacing the 20-year old timeworn wood with new beams and cedar rafter tails carved from a pattern I conceived and designed myself. Last week, the old wood came down and it's looking markedly different already.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Since building this pergola I’ve added lots of bulbs and perennials that bloom at different times throughout the season. Here is the pergola garden in late May. Boxwood line the beds on both sides.
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- And gorgeous spring-flowering bulbs emerge along the entire length of the pergola.
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- In the center, a cross section supports beautiful sweet-smelling wisteria standards.
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- Here they grow over the rafters.
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- And on the vertical granite posts I grow several different varieties of clematis.
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- Each pair of posts supports the same variety and every summer they stand out in all their gorgeous colors.
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- Later in the season, the gardens change. Here is the pergola in early August when the beds are filled with bold orange tiger lilies. I always encourage guests to walk along the footpath underneath.
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- From above, one can see the pergola’s structure. This pergola extends from the carriage road in front of my flower cutting garden all the way to the west end of my soccer field.
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- Last week was phase one of the project. Here’s Fernando Ferrari, who has worked with me for more than 30-years. He saw the original pergola go up. Now he is helping to take it down, one board at a time.
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- Pete is also a longtime member of my outdoor grounds crew. He is removing the wooden boards carefully, so as not to damage the antique granite posts.
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- Most of the beams in this section are removed. A lot of them have deteriorated over time.
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- The copper wire for the clematis vines remains. Here, Fernando moves the wire and any supporting screws and nails from the top of the posts.
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- The entire removal phase took several days. Thankfully, the milder weather cooperated.
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- As each piece is taken down, it is placed in a pile at one end of the pergola.
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- Here is the pergola mid-week. Pete and Fernando have done a fast job.
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- Next are these old decorative rafters. They must also be removed carefully.
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- The entire job is done by hand to protect the posts and the gardens below – no big equipment can be used. Pete is close to finishing.
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- This is what it looks like now – quite bare. The burlap covers the boxwood hedge and shrubs that border the gardens.
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- Soon, the building will commence and a new pergola will take shape. Follow to see the next phase of this restoration project.
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