While I've posted previously about how much I love my arbor, as part of Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop, I have a question: what foundation should my arbor have? After putting the arbor together, I dug holes for the legs, put in some stones, and then placed the arbor. This appeared to be a sufficient foundation until there was a major thaw and then roaring winds, which toppled the arbor. I reset the arbor and braced the legs with large rocks:
Yesterday there was a major thaw again followed by blizzard-type winds, but, thankfully, the arbor did not get blown over. I conclude that the rocks are doing the job, but I need them elsewhere in the garden and, more importantly, they don't look as if they belong there. We did not set the arbor legs in concrete because I've never worked with it before, and because I'd rather not have concrete in the garden. Any suggestions for sturdier footing for the arbor?