Anyone got an arbour?

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement, it is so new looking and in an 'old' garden it sticks out a bit. As people have said, I think after a bit of plant filling in and weathering it will 'fit' in.

@goosegog5555 - I know 'expensive' is a subjective word but this was all done on a budget (itchy feet syndrome) but I thought it was very reasonable, and to give an idea.

Arbour was £210 - bought online, delivered flatpacked, needed 3 hours of occasionally tricky assembly with some basic tools and a bit of DIY skills. (Do hunt around, for the identical arbour there are huge differences in price). There is a huge design variation to choose from.

Stepping Stones £50 - bought from a local supplier, they are much cheaper than usual suppliers, living in the sticks does have its compensations! I went to pick them up so no delivery costs.

Plants £20 - I just bought a few and had some shrubs in pots that I keep anyway to replace anything that dies over winter.

Seat cushion (weatherproof) - £20 bought online.

Labouring I did myself, clearing, digging, disposal, DIY etc.

So about £300 for the whole project.

There are options to get the arbour delivered and then erected by the deliverymen from some suppliers - about £100-150 extra I think.

p.s. if anyone is contemplating buying this arbour or similar, please feel free to PM me as there are things that might be handy knowing in advance.

Cheers
GG

 

And just to add to GG's advice on costs, my local Freecycle currently has paving slabs on offer So, that is another angle to consider.
I think I have now seen at least two other members on here with the same arbour I have - it was a B&Q baby and no where near as expensive as a pergola. Now, I had a bespoke pergola in my previous but one home (neighbour was a chippie and was very generous with his time) but, if I had to choose between a pergola or an arbour then the arbour would win hands down. Why? Snails!!! I managed to get some gorgeous climbers on my pergola but it became a shady haven for snails Now, having one of those plop into your Pimms on a summers evening is not pleasant, nor is seeing them do their mass migration at sundown while you are still munching on your chargrilled steak and salad
An arbour, on the other hand, doesn't attract quite the same level of mollusc and, I suppose because you are not hosting a family BBQ under it, you don't quite get the same factor either.
The B&Q arbour was bought in a sale and was relatively easy to put up with two people (so, no labour charges - other half *could* have done it on his own, but, as he puts coal on the BBQ upside down, it required my skills as project manager to make certain it was done correctly hence two people). When we moved here and relocated our arbour, I did the paving for it to sit on (again, no labour charges and this time other half played skivvy ).

If it is on your wish list, it can certainly be achieved