Garden Arbour with Climbing Roses
A weathered wooden arbour draped in climbing roses frames a bluestone path, bordered by espalier apple trees trained along split-rail fencing before a two-story red-brick house with black shutters.
Design notes
Colonial design is symmetry and restraint. Look for a central axis from the back door, matched beds and hedges either side, bluestone or brick terraces with tight joints, and white or black picket and post-and-rail fences. Planting is disciplined — boxwood, hydrangea, holly, dogwood and shade trees — and furniture is classic: teak benches, Windsor chairs, a market umbrella. Georgian brick, clapboard and shingle houses all suit it.
What to look for
- Path width and bed width — can you reach and can a wheelbarrow pass
- Where the water is and how far the kitchen door is
- Edges and structure that still look good in winter





