Nothing is more inviting than the allure of garden gates which hold the promise of something intriguing that lies beyond the entrance. There is something powerful and optimistic about that which resonates within us all. I think it is what I admire most about gardens and the gardeners who tend them-eternal optimism.
In my own garden, the gates were the foundation and I built my entire garden around them. I bought them at an auction over 20 years ago with the firm conviction that I would find a place for them somewhere, sometime. It took longer than I had anticipated but the results were all that I had hoped for. The graceful tendrils which flow in and out of these old gates are a work of art from an artists hand with a craft which is rare today.
Wrought Iron in all forms; gates, Objects de Art, and fragments are a natural fit for decor in the garden. They can be rustic or refined as they mirror the natural world with motifs and lines often chosen from the garden inspired world of flowers, birds, and bugs.
They can reflect a preference for formality in a carefully planned garden or convey a whimsical free-flowing spirit found in the less formal cottage garden.
A well-placed fragment set against luxurious outdoor fabrics provides a sense of yin and yang, a pairing of opposites that makes for a mix that is perfect as the indoor world opens to the outdoors.
The garden provides an opportunity to recycle these magnificent works of art in a way that could never be matched with something new. I have often thought that is the reason we all love a garden wedding-“something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”. It is a kind of a mantra for great beginnings, and the hope for things that endure.