The origin of the word is the Late Latin pergula, referring to a projecting eave. The English term was borrowed from Italian. It was mentioned in an Italian context in 1645 by John Evelyn at the cloister of Trinità dei Monti in Rome[4] He used the term in an English context in 1654 when, in the company of the fifth Earl of Pembroke, Evelyn watched the coursing of hares from a "pergola" built on the downs near Salisbury for that purpose.
Historical gardens
The clearly artificial nature of the pergola made it fall from favor in the naturalistic gardening styles of the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet handsome pergolas on brick and stone pillars with powerful cross-beams were a feature of the gardens designed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll and epitomize their trademark of firm structure luxuriantly planted. A particularly extensive pergola features at the gardens of The Hill, Hampstead (London), designed by Thomas Mawson for his client W. H. Lever.
Modern pergolas
Modern pergola design material including wood, vinyl, fiberglass, aluminum and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) rather than brick or stone pillars, are more affordable and are increasing in popularity. Wooden pergolas are either made from a weather-resistant wood, such as western redcedar (Thuja plicata) or, formerly, of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), are painted or stained, or use wood treated with preservatives for outdoor use.
For a low maintenance alternative to wood, vinyl, fiberglass, aluminum and CPVC can be used.
These materials do not require yearly paint or stain like a wooden pergola and their manufacture can make them even stronger and longer-lasting than a wooden pergola.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Advances in Landscape Architecture", by M. Özyavuz , ISBN 978-953-51-1167-2, Published: July 1, 2013 under CC BY 3.0 license. ©