Pergolas have been around in one form or another for centuries, adorning gardens around the world to hang plants from and to provide shade, so why are they so popular again?

While they’ve always been available, they’ve not been as popular as this for quite some time, with more and more homeowners choosing to erect some form of pergola. The 2021 RHS Chelsea Flower Show was a real indicator of just how popular they’ve become, with many of the designs showing off both standard and more imaginative pergola styles.

To help understand this recent rise in favour of the traditional garden structure, we’re taking a look at what makes them appealing — and we’ll also tell you how you can get your hands on one too.

Our new Proteus Aluminium Anthracite Grey Pergola on show next to house on wooden decking
Our new Proteus Aluminium Pergola is available in the popular Anthracite Grey colour

Here are three things that make pergolas so popular:

They create more living space

We all want to enjoy our gardens more, but without structures like pergolas it might seem a little underwhelming. Give yourself - and your guests - a proper, welcoming space by adding a pergola. This can be placed further out into your garden, or simply close by to your patio doors to create a sense of extending the indoor space.

It’s hard to put a real value on how much an outdoor living space can improve things, but after the two years we’ve had, it should be obvious why this is an important feature for your mental health and well-being. Whether you choose to use the space for sipping cocktails in the summer or doing some yoga under climbing vines in the spring, it’s a space that will allow you to fully utilise your garden.

White Proteus aluminium pergola with louvered roof set on lawn in garden with white gravel and planted borders.
The Proteus aluminium pergola with louvered roof comes in an attractive white that lift the colour of matching paving.

They allow for vertical planting

If you’re dreaming of a picturesque garden with fine Italian porcelain paving stones and exotic plants, then the vision surely isn’t complete without a little more verticality. Traditionally, we’re used to seeing shrubs and other smaller plants dotted around or arranged to help the garden flow outwards, but what about upwards?

Pergolas give you a chance to arrange plants that climb and intertwine with the structure, or you can hang creations from the beams overhead. Whatever you choose to do, it’s a fantastic way to draw eyes up from the ground and gives your planting a different dimension.

They provide shaded spaces

Yes, the sunshine is great, giving your mood a much-needed boost if you can catch those rays. But while they’re few and far between across a 12-month period, intense sunlight isn’t always great when you want to relax in comfort. That’s where a pergola with a louvred roof comes in handy. Whether you want to read, doze off or eat a meal without the glare of the sun, all you have to do is adjust the roof on your pergola to get the shaded space you desire. This also ties in with our previous point about plants, as they too can create shade if allowed to weave their way around and between a wooden pergola.

Closeup of aluminium pergola frame with tilting louvres in open position
Transform the roof effortlessly with tilting louvres

Outdoor living from London Stone

If the idea of a pergola for your garden is one that has you excited, then we have great news for you - our outdoor living range now features some new additions in the form of the Proteus Grey Aluminium Pergola and the Proteus White Aluminium Pergola.

These luxury aluminium pergolas from Nova are rust-proof, UV-resistant and powder-coated, with a hand-crank mechanism that takes as little as 30 seconds to open and close the roof. You can find out more about the award-winning range in our recent post where we announced the products and looked at their design in more detail.