Our New Pergola Initiated

Sunday evening was our first wedding in the newly rebuilt Pergola in our garden. Most people that were there probably didn't even realize that anything had changed since it looks exactly like the old one.
This last winter was very hard on our old Pergola, and toward spring we noticed that the columns all had long vertical splits in the wood. Not good! Going on its eleventh year, the top had also seen better days and was beginning to show some rot and peeling. Jim has painted it just about every year, but there's only so much you can do.
So we decided to bite the bullet and replace the entire structure. Unfortunately, you don't just walk into Menards and buy columns that big, so they had to be ordered and the delivery date was set for May 12th. The new columns are made of fiberglass, and won't split or crack. But they did have to be sanded, primed and painted. The bases and tops also had to be primed and painted.
Jim knew that there was no way to complete the new pergola before the garden wedding we had scheduled for the 15th, so he went out the Sunday of the weekend before, and filled all the cracks with putty, sanded and painted the rough spots, and madt e the Pergola presentable for one last performance.
Of course, it poured down rain on Friday the 15th, and the wedding was moved to the chapel--isn't that just Murphy's Law!! Our Saturday evening wedding was planned for the chapel all along, so, of course, all the plentiful sunshine was on Saturday!
They did take a lot of their pictures in the garden on Saturday, so it wasn't totally for naught.
We knew though that there was another wedding scheduled in the garden for Sunday the 24th, so Jim and his crew were hard at it, all week, getting the old Pergola torn out, and the new one constructed in its place, before the Sunday wedding. When they came for their rehearsal on Saturday morning, the 23rd, they had the workmen there to stand in as their audience, because they were still working on it! They finished up about 4 p.m. on Saturday. Phew!!
It looks absolutely beautiful now; perfect, and freshly painted with a new coat of white paint. No one would ever know that it wasn't the original. And the garden is looking absolutely amazing! Dorothy and her crew have been weeding, watering and planting for several weeks now, and their love and attention is evident. There are a zillion chirping, singing birds out there, nesting in the trees and enjoying their beautiful home.
I remember when we chose all the plants and bushes for the garden 11 years ago, and they all looked so small. Well, no more. They have matured and grown, and it has become the "secret garden" tucked away from the road and the honking cars. It's so private and secluded.
So Sunday evening, in nearly perfect weather, 70 degrees or so, sunny with a light breeze, Scott and Michelle said their vows under the new pergola. And all of us breathed a sigh of relief that it was finished!