Farm House Arbor

This rustic, yet quaint arbor is located at the Farm House Museum on the Iowa State University campus.  It was reconstructed from old photographs several years ago and is such a nice addition to the site.  I walk past it often and suddenly felt compelled to share it.  I love the combination of the perfectly constructed bird gates paired with the natural wood structure.

Garden Terms: Pergola

A lovely way to create shade in your garden...

Pergola :: An arbor or shaded walk, formed either of trellis, brick piers, stone pillars or wooden posts, on which rest beams or joists, with vines often trained over them.

Image courtesy of feliciano

Image courtesy of Around the Island Photography

Image courtesy of Sherri Conley Fine Art Photography

The Neighborhood Sheds

Can functional structures like sheds be beautiful too?

As we decorated ours with corn stalks a couple of weeks ago I realized how lucky we were to have such a lovely, vibrant shed in our garden.  I then realized our neighborhood was filled with similar structures...some old, some new, but all stunning. They all store tools (and some even chickens), plus garden ephemera.  Each one has an intriguing beauty.

Rather than build a typical shed in your yard, create a functional masterpiece that becomes an integral component of your garden.

Our fun orange garden shed designed and constructed by my husband.

Our neighbor's garden shed and chicken coop to the east of our house. 

A shaker-like shed and beautiful worn brick a couple of houses to the north.

The oldest and most detailed shed in our neighborhood located just to the northeast. 

A big thanks to all of our neighbors for letting me tromp through your yards, move around your garden tools and allowing me to flip your light switches on and off to take these photos.