Perfect Pergolas at home and abroad

One of the two pergolas at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

I've seen two incredible pergolas here in the US recently, which gave me the inspiration to write this entry. The first is at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden near Charlotte in North Carolina (above), which has not one, but two of these wonderful features; and the second is at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Florida (below). Glorious additions in any garden, since they provide strong architectural interest and are an important structure for climbing plants.

The 560-foot long vine pergola at Fairchild

Pergolas are open structures with no walls, with columns supporting crossbars and therefore ideal for all kinds of plants. They were extremely popular in Renaissance Italy where they were used as grape arbors, and became a real hallmark of Gertrude Jekyll gardens last century. Indeed, Vann (below), where Jekyll also designed the water garden, has a fantastic pergola, which makes an impressive sight in the summer months as the foliage begins to spread. Spring must be coming because Vann opens to the public in April and May - it's one of my favourite gardens in the world, and I'll certainly be making my annual visit. No year would be complete for me without it!

West Dean in West Sussex (right) has a pretty impressive pergola too - a sight to behold even when it's bare on a cold winter's day - when you get the reflection in the water below. And of course, it's truly joyous in the summer months when it's covered with greenery. Gertrude Jekyll designed the water garden here too, but this is definitely a garden for all seasons and there's always something going on here, because the garden organises wonderful themed events throughout the season, so it's worth checking their calender. There are also specialist courses at West Dean College.

Hever Castle, another of my favourites in England, has one of the most impressive pergolas of all (below), which stretches as far as the eye can see and is a delight in full bloom. This is just part of the wonderful Italianate garden there, and is worth planning a special visit to see when the weather gets better. Definitely 5* gardens and a must-see if you're in the area.

And the pergola that sticks in my mind from my visit to the South of France last summer is the wonderful edifice at Villa Hanbury in Ventimiglia (below). And here it really came into its own for me because it was such a hot day when we visited, that I was only too happy to hide from the sun in the shade below. Visit any of these gardens on a sunny day, and you'll be doing the same!