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What's the Difference Between a Trellis, an Arbor, and a Pergola?

comments (0) May 1st, 2009 in Blogs

Robyn Doyon-Aitken, producer

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A trellis is typically a latticework built to support climbing plants or vines.

An arbor usually incorporates a trellis into its structure, creating a tunnel-like passageway of climbing plants.

Pergolas are designed to support climbing plants, but unlike arbors, pergolas have posts supporting a rooflike structure.

A trellis is typically a latticework built to support climbing plants or vines.

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by Chip Harley

Although the terms often are used interchangeably, trellises, arbors, and pergolas are distinctly different structures. A trellis is typically a latticework built to support climbing plants or vines. It can be a simple panel attached to the side of a building, or it can be freestanding in a garden or yard. An arbor usually incorporates a trellis into its structure, creating a tunnel-like passageway of climbing plants. Arbors have a continuous run of latticework from one side of the “tunnel” to the other, often in an arched shape. Pergolas, too, are designed to support climbing plants. Unlike arbors, though, pergolas simply have posts supporting a rooflike structure. They’re most commonly used to shade a walkway or a deck.

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