Fences, Gates and Screens

Solid Cedar Fence and Gate

1. Overview
2. Fences and gates
3. Screens

1.  Overview

Fences and screens are usually used to define a property line, to provide privacy, to keep small children and pets in, and to keep unwanted visitors (including blackberries) and animals out.  But they also provide wonderful architectural interest, enhancing the style of the house and garden.  A Japanese style fence with a small roof running along the top helps define the Japanese garden and create a mood, just as a white picket fence sets off an English cottage garden or a split rail cedar fence implies a relaxed country garden.  They can direct the eye to plantings you want emphasized or act as a foil to screen the uninteresting and unsightly (garbage and recycle bins).    Fences and screens provide structure on which to grow vines and train trees and shrubs.   In winter, they provide the architectural interest in the dormant garden.

2.  Fences and Gates

There are probably as many styles of fences as there are houses. Some of the most common are straight cedar board fences and panel board fences.  In addition to these styles, Rodda and Sons Landscapes has built several custom fences incorporating a variety of materials: panels of steel mesh on posts with vines twining through the mesh; wood fences with decorative cast iron inserts; brick columns with wrought iron panels between them; oriental bamboo; customized picket fences; and split rail fences.

Solid fences can act as a windbreak and transform an average garden situation into a hospitable mini-climate that helps support a wider range of plant materials.  To some extent, a very solid fence with no gaps provides a sound barrier from traffic noise if noise is below the garden.

3.  Screens

Sometimes a garden can be made to feel larger than it really is by using screens to give one the sense that there is much more just around the corner.  Screens also can be used to divide a space into rooms that feel secluded and cozy.