The best seat not in the house? Could be you are
looking to build a bower in your garden.
How to build a garden bower
Many people think that building a bower is a long and complicated
process, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Bower building is
an easy task that can be handled by one person without the assistance of
a professional contractor. All one needs to have is the building
material ready and the design for the bower. If this is your first
attempt at a DIY bower, go for a simple design. This will obviously be
dictated to some extent by the budget and construction materials
available.
The function of a garden bower is to support flowers and other leafy
plants in the garden while providing a comfortable seat amongst all your
carefully chosen climbing plants. Because it is meant to withstand all
seasons and still look good, a bower should be constructed from hardy
material that will withstand the full affect of the weather.
When building a garden bower, one can choose to use metallic support
for the plants or just the ordinary provisions of nature in your garden
- for example by growing trees that are both sufficiently tall enough to
bend and which can also provide enough support for other plants. In cases where the
trees are not tall enough or there are no trees at all, a gardener will
have to make do with the metal, which admittedly is more durable and
offers long-lasting support.
If you are building a metal bower in the garden, consider its
dimensions: height, length and width. An advantage of the metal bower is
that it can be adjusted. The metallic bow needs two side frames and the
top frame which are cut to suit with a hacksaw or a disc cutter.
Depending on how hard the metal is one may need to use industrial metal
cutters or a simple hacksaw or disc cutter. If the latter is necessary
and you have not used one before, it may be best to get the frame cut
professionally.
With the pieces ready, you are now closer to having the bower ready in
your garden. The next step involves connecting the pieces. One should
start by ensuring that the diagonal frames have a strong ground hold.
This can be achieved by digging them into the ground, but with metals
like iron that rust when in contact with soil, one should first ensure
that contact is eliminated by bedding the frame in at least 30cm of
concrete. When the diagonals are firmly in the ground, then it is time
to place the upper section. Most people prefer the upper part curved in
order to drain water properly in addition to it being more attractive to
look at. Fixing it to the diagonal parts can be done using screws,
bolts, clamps or adhesives.
Alternatively, one can fix the parts together before erecting them to
the ground. This however can only be done with the help of another
person who will lift the bow structure to where it is to be erected.
When the summer finally comes, you will be glad that you actually
took the time in building a bower in the garden.
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