Metal Garden Arch

When you are highlighting a rose garden one of the best ways is with metal garden arches. Metal works best with roses, because they get really heavy as they grow to cover the arch, and metal can handle the weight.

How to place your arch.

When you are using an arch in a rose garden you need it to do one of three things. It should either lead you down a path, open on to a different part of a garden, or contain a garden bench and be placed toward the back of your garden.

A garden arch that is sitting in the middle of nowhere just looks silly.

What works well with a metal garden arch.

Plant climbing roses against the garden arch (be patient they don't grow fast) and then tier the rose bushes around it. Plant nearly wild rose bushes (or any variety that gets about 3 to 4 feet tall) next to the arch, and carpet roses in front. If your arch is lining a path, you can also use cast iron decorative edging along your beds to give them more definition. It goes great with the arch.

If your garden is looking plain and bland, a garden arch might be just what you are looking for to spruce it up a little bit. But what plants can you grow around it? Perennial plants are a great choice. Evergreen plants keep their leaves all year round so the arch is always covered. Deciduous plants will loose their leaves over the winter but will re-grow them again during the spring. Each of these plants may give new flowers of fruit every growing season.

Garden arches should not be limited to only the garden entry, they are also great at a midway point to offer a shaded sanctuary in the middle of the garden. If you install the arch with benches, you will have a perfect place to sit and rest or enjoy your morning coffee.

If you install a garden arch while your children are young, and add the correct plants, it may be the perfect backdrop for a garden wedding after they get older.

Garden arches may be made of several materials. Metal arches are to be preferred over the wooden ones, however. After the vine plant grow over the boards of a garden arch the wood could not be re-painted so it will be exposed to the elements and rot quickly. Once decay begins to set in the arch may no longer be secure enough to support the plants.

If you choose a metal arch, be sure that it is resistant to rust in order to have a long lasting arch for many years.

Runners from your plants will need to be trained back into the structure of the arch. You may need to do some trimming of the plants to keep the arch in good shape.