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Garden bridges used to be reserved for those lucky enough to have koi ponds, water gardens, and other aquatic features.  But, the rise in outdoor living and those investing in their own backyard-vacation spots has created opportunities for garden bridges to make appearances across the nation.

For those looking for low maintenance beauty in their landscape, gravel ponds can be created from tiny pea gravel.  You can go with a subdued grey or reddish tone, or mix hued stones for a colorful area.  Using a wide toothed rake, pull water-inspired curves and flowing patterns through the stones.  Not only will this give your entire outdoor living area a uniquely far eastern feeling, it will also provide a beautiful focal point that requires little to no maintenance whatsoever!

Garden of Immortals at the Sanji Chionji Temple in Kyoto, Japan

Garden bridges can also turn a low or unsightly section of your lawn into a beautiful spot. If there is a section of your landscape that dips and collects water, garden bridges can provide a place to cross unscathed.  This also goes for ditches and muddy spots.  While these soft spots of ground used to render entire sections of yards useless, a garden bridge will allow you to walk through it to reach other parts of your landscape.  You can make lemonade out of lemons by creating an ethereal focal point over a previous eyesore.

Use a garden bridge that appeals to your maintenance, aesthetic, and budget concerns. Bridges without rails, often called plank bridges, give an un-fussy low-profile place to cross.  While picket and spindle bridges and high arch bridges are more dramatic.  Pine bridges are lower cost, while cedar garden bridges elevate the luxury of any landscape.

Whatever you do, many sure you properly measure the section to get the right size.  Plus, invest in stainless steel hardware as it is guaranteed not to rust or corrode when exposed to moisture. Most importantly—have fun, be creative, and create something beautiful to revitalize your backyard!

Hazel

Tags: Bridges, cedar bridges, garden bridge, Garden Bridges, picket and spindle bridges, pine bridges, plank bridges, water garden

Derek Fell is a world renowned garden designer, photographer, and writer.  He is the author of The Magic of Monet’s Garden, Renoir’s Garden, and Cezanne’s Garden.  His last work is The Encyclopedia of Garden Design (Firefly Books). His garden at historic Cedaridge Farm has won several design awards, including best interpretation of an Impressionist garden, best water garden and best flower garden.

My home and garden, Cedaridge Farm is located on 20 acres of sloping ground in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When I purchased the property 20 years ago to serve as an outdoor studio for photography and experimenting with various gardening techniques, there was hardly a flower on the property. There were a few outbuildings – a barn, a spring-house and a chicken-house, but no ornamental features. My first project was to start a vegetable garden and experiment with various vertical gardening techniques since I had come to the conclusion that climbing vegetables like pole snap beans instead of bush snap beans and climbing zucchini instead of bush zucchini were more flavorful because of their extra leaf coverage collecting chlorophyll, but also because vining vegetables tend to be ever-bearing, where bush varieties often exhaust themselves after two weeks of production. From this experimentation I designed an easy to install vertical gardening unit called a Skyscraper Garden that the Cedar Store now offers for sale. The Skyscraper Garden consists of a pair of brackets for attaching to a fence or between two posts, a metal cross bar to hang a 4 ft. wide by 6 ft. high section of netting, and three pegs to hold the netting taught to the ground. Up to four vining plants can be grown along the width of the unit, and it is a wonderful space-saving idea for people without a lot of room for a traditional horizontal garden.

Because we are located next to a state park with more than 300 deer we have deer wandering through the property every night looking for food, and so I had to erect a fence around my vegetable garden, but to make it look attractive I used some beautiful cedar gates as entrances, one of them featuring an arch that I covered with grape vines.

My next project was a cutting garden as my wife, Carolyn and I like to fill the rooms of our farmhouse with fragrant, fresh flowers. We chose a level site between the farmhouse and our barn, and to make it decorative we installed a beautiful white Victorian-style gazebo at one end as a focal point. A flagstone path leads from the farmhouse through the cutting garden to the gazebo, with a table and built in benches for sitting with guests.

We have a natural stream at the bottom of the slope, and we made a nature trail that criss-crosses the stream, requiring the installation of several bridges. These are painted barn red to match the color of the barn and also to harmonize with the colors of fall when the deciduous woods turn russet colors.

The styles of the bridges change depending on the location – one is a Monet-style arched bridge, another a flat span connecting to a boardwalk that leads through a swampy area, and another is a rustic design made from two rough wooden slabs and tree branches for hand rails..

Whenever there is a change of environment along the garden path, or at the entrance to a theme garden (such as a cottage garden adjacent to a guest cottage), I have installed wooden arches. These are not only decorative and functional by supporting climbing plants such as trumpet creeper and wisteria, they help to create focal points and  direct visitors from one garden space to another.

For the future I will be working with the Cedar Store on a series of classic garden structures that I have admired, largely as a result of writing about the restored gardens of great Impressionist painters, like Renoir, Monet and Cezanne.

Tags: Bridges, cedar gates, Derek Fell, Garden Bridges, Gazebos, skyscraper garden, wooden arches

“TFCSOTSPBWL OCTOBER XVIII MDCCC.” This curious inscription was carved by a stonemason, John Lewis, into a block of granite that he had lain as a support for a bridge that was being built by Timothy Palmer. Because of space restrictions, he simply used initials, instead of writing, “The first corner stone of the Schuylkill Permanent Bridge was lain on October 18, 1800.” When the bridge was nearly finished, in 1804, a Philadelphia judge, Richard Peters, suggested that, in order to preserve its trusses and extend its life, the bridge should be covered. The cover was designed and built, and the first covered bridge opened for travel on January 1, 1805.

Judge Peters had no way of knowing what he was starting. His simple idea for covering that bridge led to a wellspring of folklore, legend, myth, and mystique, that would turn the reasoning behind it as murky as the waters surrounding its original cornerstone, which, it is believed, still supports what is now known as the Market Street Bridge.

The speculations were numerous and humorous. Some people thought that covered bridges were intended to look like barns, to make animals feel more comfortable while crossing them. Others maintained that the covers were there to keep horses from being frightened by the rushing water beneath them. It was also said that covered bridges were designed to keep travelers from seeing what kind of town they were approaching, until it was too late to turn back. Although many people said that the coverings were meant to keep snow off the bridges, old toll signs that designate fares for horse-drawn sleighs contradict that notion.

Covering bridges also enabled them to be used for scores of purposes, other than getting to the other side of a stream. They were used for campaign rallies, religious services, family reunions, meetings, weddings, debates, shelter from a storm, fishing and diving platforms, and even hanging clothes to dry during inclement weather. Favorite places for couples to steal a few kisses, covered bridges were commonly called “kissing bridges.” They were also sometimes referred to as “wishing bridges” because it was believed that any wish a person made while passing through one would come true.

The most powerful effects of the decision to cover that first bridge, however, are intangible. Even for those who know none of the specific details of their history, covered bridges evoke nostalgia and stir strong emotions, while their gradual disappearance from the country’s landscape incites a growing passion to preserve them as precious, irreplaceable landmarks.

Although it’s true that the covered bridges that were built and used by our ancestors are decreasing in number every year, a new era in covered bridges is just dawning, at DesignerBridges.com. The best part is that these new bridges, which are designed for your own creek, stream, or walkway, have all of the charm of their predecessors, but, constructed from your choice of treated pine or Dura-Temp siding, many times the durability.

At DesignerBridges.com, you can customize your own gorgeous covered garden bridge in three simple steps, choosing from a variety of sizes, styles, materials, and accessories. Visit DesignerBridges.com today, and begin your own tradition of swimmin’, fishin’, whistlin’, and kissin’.

Tags: bridge, Bridges, covered bridge, covered bridges

While installing a backyard pond is relatively easy (meaning that virtually anyone who is so inclined, and physically able, can do it, not that it requires little work), getting it finished and filled is just the beginning.  As I mentioned in an earlier blog, it’s not imperative that ponds be stocked; but rarely do people go to the trouble of putting them in so that they may realize their visions of having backyard features that could easily be mistaken for giant puddles.

Indeed, ponds are usually created because someone is dreaming of a gorgeous backyard oasis teeming with exotic plants and aquatic life.  One of the best things about it is that, no matter which elements you choose to include, your pond is unique.  Most people, however, even those who can’t decide whether they want just plants, just fish (which is not a good idea), both, or neither, have, from the moment that they conceived of their ponds, clearly pictured them with stunning garden bridges across them.

There is no doubt that garden bridges are among the most popular landscape features, even in yards that have no water; and they’re not just there for decoration.  Besides being purely practical ways of getting to the other side, they make superb vantage points for stopping to enjoy the colorful plants and view the underwater life.

When it comes to selecting the ideal bridge for your purposes, along with the size, you should consider the style of your garden and the pond that you installed.  If it’s formal, a double-rail, picket rail, or spindle rail bridge will complement it beautifully.  In more rustic and casual gardens, plank, single rail, or simple white cedar bridges are absolutely charming.   

The best thing to do is to go to DesignerBridges.com, where you’ll find one of the largest selections of pine, cedar, and vinyl garden bridges and pedestrian trail bridges available anywhere.  Believe it or not, they even have spectacular covered bridges that you can customize for yourself right on the site! 

When you’re finished putting the crowning touch on your pond, don’t forget to go to CedarStore.com and pick out some great new outdoor furniture, such as patio chairs, garden benches, Adirondack chairs, gliders, and porch swings, so that you and your guests will be able to relax and enjoy the glorious view.  And imagine how much more rewarding it will be, knowing that you made the scenery even more magnificent just by adding a pond and a garden bridge!

Yours Outdoors!

Kathy 

Tags: bridge, Bridges, garden bridge, Garden Bridges

In every garden, it’s important to have some kind of a focal point, whether it’s an arbor, a gazebo, a trellis, a statue, an outdoor furniture group, a fountain, or even a single garden bench. 

Garden bridges also make spectacular centerpieces; but some people think that they won’t be able to use one unless they have a pond or a stream in the backyard.  Not true.  A bridge can add a stunning new dimension to even the dullest landscape, and make the perfect accent for any garden or walkway. 

However, if you want to add a bridge and a water feature, it’s a lot easier to do than it was just a few years ago.  Then, if you didn’t have a natural source of water, the only way to get a pond was to pour a concrete shell and fill it with water.  It was a painstaking – and expensive – process to install it correctly, and to get the desired shape.  A lot also depended upon the condition of the soil, as well as the climate, because freezing and thawing often caused cracking and leaking. 

Luckily, things have changed since the introduction of flexible rubber and plastic liners, which allow almost anyone to build a pond of nearly any size or shape.  Much less expensive than concrete, they are also incredibly durable, with the higher-quality ones lasting as long as 30 years.

You can also find rigid, pre-formed fiberglass or plastic pond shells.  These work well in sandy or soft soil, as erosion and shifting won’t affect the shape of the pond.  The drawbacks are that they are available in a limited number of sizes and shapes, and that you have to be a bit more creative with your border stones and plants if you want to achieve a natural look.  At the same time, because of their geometric shapes, they are better suited for formal gardens, where you may want to use pavers, patio tiles, or bricks, as edging materials.

As for the crowning touch, which, of course, is the garden bridge, well, that’s the easy part.  At DesignerBridges.com, you’ll find all styles and sizes of garden and pedestrian trail bridges to fit nearly any stream, pond, or creek.  You can even customize your own covered bridge in a few, simple steps.  If you’re wondering which bridge is best for your purposes, just call 888-293-2339 and let one of our design consultants assist you.   

Remember, if you’re suffering from a dull landscape, you can easily get over it with a garden bridge.

Yours Outdoors,

Kathy

Tags: bridge, Bridges, covered bridge, garden bridge