Avant Garden w17
by Derek Fell
Winter is a good time to consider installing a gazebo or belvedere because these garden structures are not only ornamental when properly placed in the landscape, they are functional, serving as a shelter from rain or snow and also as a firm footing to view a vista. At my home Cedaridge Farm we have a Victorian-style gazebo at the end of a path that runs through a cutting garden, and one of the best times to view it is after a fall of snow. In addition to establishing a Victorian appearance, the design of a gazebo or belvedere can identify a Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian or other ethnic theme.
Belvederes are similar to gazebos but usually these are more substantial and connected to a structure such as a stone wall, or elevated high off the ground so it requires steps or stairs to access it. Popular styles of gazebo are Victorian, with lots of gingerbread trim and oriental, usually with a wide brim, bamboo roof and upturned eaves. Common materials for either structure are wood, wire and even stone. They can also serve double duty as a dovecote, either formal in appearance or informal, with tree trunks used as supports to provide a rustic flavor, and thatch used for the roof, perhaps for placement in a wooded area. At the resort hotel of Mohonk, near New Paltz, New York, there are a dozen rustic gazebos strategically placed along a cliff walk so hikers can pause and take in a series of elevated views of a glacial lake. Other popular places for gazebos are beside a pond, at the crest of a hill and even extended out into a lake for access by a boardwalk or bridge. Gazebos are usually open to the environment and usually circular or octagonal to provide all-around views.
Be aware that some local ordinances may require a permit for a gazebo and demand that they be placed a certain distance from public roads.
There is tremendous scope for originality of design with both gazebos and belvederes. For example, the private garden of Renny Reynolds, in Wrightstown features a white gazebo with a rakish peaked roof, extended out over water, while at the Ladew Topiary Gardens, Monkton, Maryland, an orange and black gazebo echoes the orange and black colors of the plantings surrounding it. Gazebos are also good vertical structures on which to train vines for a more romantic feeling. Popular vines to consider include rambler roses, trumpet creeper and clematis. One of the most appealing gazebos I ever saw was at the end of a lawn vista where a Virginia creeper vine completely covered the structure, except for the windows and door, making it appear to be an imaginative piece of topiary. By glassing in the sides a gazebo is easily turned into a summerhouse to contain a writing desk and library.
Though a gazebo remains static and is best situated to take in a view, it can also serve as an ornamental accent at the end of a path or vista. The plantings surrounding it can change with the seasons by selecting trees and shrubs with good fall color. These can be augmented with colonies of naturalized perennials, or wildflowers that can provide four seasons of floral beauty. The term ’gazebo’ is supposedly derived from ‘gaze about’ though other terms besides ‘belvedere’ are frequently used to identify a particular design, such as ‘kiosk,’ a French word from the French kiosque which itself is from the Turkish koshk, meaning a pavilion. Kiosks, therefore, are generally shelters that reflect their Middle-eastern origins, often with mosque-like roofs and windows. Temple is another term used to describe a formal structure that usually features stone pillars and a domed roof above a sculpture of a religious personage such as Madonna and mythical figures from Greek mythology, such as Diana the Huntress and winged Psyche.
In England and France belvederes often look like castle turrets, while others resemble Chinese pagodas and whale watch towers when located on a coastal property.
Even the smallest garden space can feature a gazebo since it can be placed flush against a wall or hedge, framed by an archway perhaps, and with an appropriate path connecting the two. Popular surfaces for paths include flagstone, cobblestone, crazy paving, shredded pine bark, gravel and simply a covering of shredded leaves to smother weeds, applied each spring.
Derek Fell is a prolific garden writer whose most recent books include ‘Vertical Gardening’ and ‘Grow This,’ both published by Rodale Books. He lives at historic Cedaridge Farm, Tinicum township and winters at a frost-free tropical garden on Sanibel Island, Florida.