If you have questions about building the bower, after reading these instructions, please leave a comment below and I will comment on it.

tools needed...
hickey to bend rebar
rebar cutter or hack saw to cut the rebar
pliers to bend the wire
tape measure

material...from a home improvement center
rebar - size - one half inch and 20 feet long
bailing wire

The Old Rose Bower is 11 feet wide at the front of the bower and 12 1/2 feet deep from front to back. As you can see from the model pictures, the width decreases toward the back of the model. The height is 6 1/2 feet.

The New Rose Bower is 9 to 10 feet wide at the front of the bower and 12 1/2 feet deep from front to back and the width is not as narrow at the back as the back of the older bower. The height is 6 1/2 feet.

The framework was made with rebar, which was shaped with a tool called a hickey. After the rebar was shaped, the ends of the rebar were pressed into the ground about 8 inches (our soil is heavy clay and if yours is sandy, it might be best to press it in 12"). After the rebar was in place, we double wired every place that the rebar met with baleing wire, this keeps the rebar from moving around. Rebar can be very sharp on the ends, so it is a good idea to be careful when you are working with it.

Click here for Old Cecile Brunner Bower Gallery...
Old Cecile Brunner Bower

Picture # 1 Old Bower....The red x on each side shows where the two roses were planted, on the outside of the bower frame.


Picture #2 New Bower....This picture shows that only one rose was planted in the middle at the back of the bower, to cover this bower.

Scroll down for pictures of the bower models...