Our Laburnum Arch Story

A few years ago I was paging through my favorite magazine, The English Garden, and came across an article on Bodant Gardens in Wales, a garden created in 1880 with amazing features, but my interest was piqued by the 180-foot Laburnum Arch. It was amazing! Beautiful and eye catching and also fleeting as the golden chain trees bloom only in spring for a few short weeks. I did some research on the Laburnum Vossi tree which most sources said was hardy only to zone 6. Yet I did see golden chain trees blooming here in Spokane and became interested in creating our own Laburnum Arch. 

Our first step was to find a location in our Display Garden, and once that was determined, we planted 14 golden chain trees in total, seven on each side. It has been a process securing and pruning the trees around the arch. Like most, it is a worthy garden project but takes time. For three years we grew the trees to be sure they were going to be hardy in Spokane. Our Display Garden is located on a windy plain above the city of Spokane so I wanted to be sure my vision was possible. After three years of good success with the trees, we designed a metal arch, installed it in the fall of 2018, and have been in the process of forming the trees over the archway. This spring, the trees have done well and they are beautifully in bloom here in May. We know the arch is young but now my vision is taking shape and can see the day that the arch will be filled in and looking like a proper Laburnum Arch.