When paired with beautiful flowers, a pergola brings not only structure but beauty and magnificent charm to your backyard. A thoughtfully designed pergola will extend your outdoor living space and provide shade during the hot summer months. For those who love gardening, pergola plants can enhance the lushness and beauty of your hideaway, while at the same time bring shade and privacy to the separate area.

If you want to personalise your outdoor decking with plants and add a splash of colour to the structure, you have to choose those little extras wisely and take the space you have into consideration as well as the seasons and overall climate to make it look stunning and worth the effort.

Climbers

Vines are a popular option to decorate your structure as the climbing plants emphasise its shape and soften the structure. Consider choosing a type that is drought tolerant and easy to grow. Although the plant needs a bit of support and maintenance, another great climber is wisteria with its long pendant blooms. The plant has dense leaves perfect for shading, andit’s mauve and violet flowers will add a nice fragrance to your patio. Other popular lightweight climbers are jasmine and honeysuckle as well as clematis.

Pots

One of the most popular flowers in Australia is the azalea due to its long flowering time in spring and easy maintenance. The bloomers come in a variety of stunning colours such as orange, violet, pink and purple and are a great match to your surround pergola décor. Camellias with their large flower and soft petals are also perfect for your pergola. Despite their gentle look, camellias are a tough plant that suits most Australian environments.

Repellents

There is nothing better than having a piece of your favourite cake on a sunny afternoon or a glass of crisp white wine to unwind from the day while sitting back and relaxing in your shady nook until the mosquitoes come out and start pestering you. While you can douse your skin with mosquito repellent, there are easier and more environmentally friendly ways to keep the annoying insects away. Citronella, rosemary, peppermint, lavender and lemon eucalyptus are some of the best natural repellents; you simply have to pop them in a pot and place them under your pergola.

Herbs

If you want to decorate your pergola with plants that yield more than the use of shade and beauty, look no further than herbs. Not only can herbs look great too, but they also provide relaxing fragrances on your pergola and best of all, they can be clipped and added to recipes. If you want to spice your cuisine up a little with freshly cut herbs, furnish your pergola with basil, thyme, parsley, chives, mint and rosemary. Furthermore, herbs often attract beautiful wildlife such as butterflies, who might want to come to your pergola and rest safely on the big blossoms of chives.

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