There are a lot of ways to mark the boundaries of a garden, but for smaller plots a wooden fence usually adds a charming touch. This is still an artificial item, and can never truly be kept from sight. Fences also will close in your vista. A wooden fence will leave room to grow greenery or shrubbery to help hide the artificial fence.
If you choose a rectilinear treatment it can be easier to harmonize them with the garden lines, but if the fence is an eyesore, harmony will be hard to create. Suburban gardens are usually small, and most often have to work with what is provided. If you are able to build your own house, you have more control over the circumstances.
A fence is like a wall and since it is outside it is worthwhile to make the wall high enough so vines can grow upon it creating a more natural look for the fence. A height of six feet in most cases would be sufficient for the purpose.
Two important considerations to make when building a fence are durability and appearance. Oak is the best type of wood to use for a fence, as it has an attractive look, and it stand up against weather conditions and a prolonged life. Appearance is referring to the overall design and the surface of the fence.
It is not a good idea to paint your fence, for it creates an even more artificial look. Consider the old fences in parks, with their admired pearly grays and opalescent tints, this create a harmony with the natural growth around it. The weathered appearance of a wooden fence creates a beautiful accent to the natural blooms and foliage of a garden setting.
The appearance and the durability of the fence is much better if it is built to show the natural figure of the fence. Typically a height of five feet is sufficient for a fence. If your area is much large, like an open courtyard that is not prone to intruders, you can create a lower fence.
A lower fence is also ideal for a setting that has an attractive landscape past it. Therefore it is the character of the surrounding environment that determines both the height of the fence and the design, which can be open, closed or a combination of both.
Construction needs to be simple, because fanciful fence work will steal attention and take away from the beauty of the flowers and foliage. Sometimes it is best for the appearance to allow the posts to stand above the top line of the fence, breaking the skyline. There are many fence designs available that can act as guides as to the type of fence best suited for a particular garden. The closed pattern has sawn oak posts and arris rails and cleft pales.
Posts that are shaped at the top will improve the appearance of the fence. The "windowed" pattern was created to mimic the look of a park fence, by the addition of raised heads to the posts and a more substantial top rail. Fences should be “weathered” to protect them from rain.
If you seek to grow climbers on your fence a half-open fence with lattice top is the perfect choice. Paled fences must include a plinth board to protect the lower end of the pales from moisture, and will also protect from burrowing animals. When putting together a fence use galvanized or copper nails, as these will not cause unsightly stains as ordinary iron nails do.
Oak can be expensive, and if you cannot afford it, try using pine or other boarding for the pales of the fence, but it is always best to have oak posts and plinth boards. You can omit the boards if you stop the pales just clear of the ground. The pales will need painting either with a tar solution (a preparation of Stockholm tar, not coal tar) or with good oil paint.
If you choose the oil paint, the color is important to consider. It is important to select a tint that harmonizes well with flowers and foliage, which can be difficult. A good choice is a subdued green of a sagey tint. Unfortunately when painting a fence it will need touched up after a period of time, which will involve removing any plant life temporarily, which can be difficulty especially if they have been trained over them.