Picket fences, widely associated with English cottage gardens, bring a homey feeling to a landscape that few other fences can match. But in this landscaping photo, the homey feeling is due to more than just the choice in fences. The pachysandra, shrubs, vines, and trees all give the yard a welcoming feel. Picket fences come in several styles, determined by a variety of criteria. In this collection of fence pictures, notice the shape of the board at the top of each picket. The style of the picket fence in this photo is the Gothic, coming to a simple point. Rather than coming to a simple point, the board in a French Gothic-style picket fence comes to what might be termed an “arrowhead” shape. The picket fence has one feature to offer some visual interest: it is scalloped. “Scalloping” means the tops of the boards along a fence form a gentle arc. The scalloping can be either concave (dipping down in the middle), as shown here, or convex. Just slightly more ornate than pickets in the flat-top style are “dog-ear” pickets. Dog-ear pickets derive their name from the image they evoke of a “dog-eared” page in a book, which is a page whose corner has been folded over to bookmark a particular spot in a book. Of course, this fence picture illustrates something else not encountered in the prior landscaping pictures. For this landscaping photo shows a stand-alone corner fence. Such corner fences are purely decorative since they form neither barrier nor border. But unlike in the prior landscaping photo, this corner fencing isn’t stand-alone. Rather, it is used in conjunction with a post-and-rail fence. But if you look closely, the “rungs” of this fencing do not consist of boards wider than they are thick, as is the case with picket fencing. Instead, they are 2 inches wide by 2 inches deep. Although some folks nonetheless refer to them as “pickets,” others call them “balusters.” In the example shown here, the balusters are essentially squared pegs that come to a point—that is, they are very plain. In this fence picture, the balusters are more ornate—rather like what one would expect on an indoor stairway, classy porch railings, or deck railings. The gateway is covered with roofing and sided with lattice. Vinyl fences are a popular alternative to wooden fencing because they are low-maintenance. They come in many styles; in the fence picture above, the Canterbury style is used. They’re essentially a two-tiered style, consisting of a top tier of balusters with normal spacing and a lower-tier spaced more tightly. But, of course, fences do have other components. Fence posts are prominent enough in one fence style to warrant inclusion in the very name of the style: “post-and-rail” fences. The post-and-rail fence style may be grouped under the more general heading of “ranch-style” or “horse” fences. Originally designed to contain livestock (especially horses), post-and-rail fences usually have 2–4 rails (horizontal components). True to their practical origins, ranch-style fences are less work to construct than the more decorative fences: they are sparer, lacking vertical boards that have to be nailed up. But despite their humble origins, post-and-rail fences are popular choices today in people’s landscapes. They offer an airiness for homeowners who want a fence but don’t want to be overwhelmed with the feeling of being “fenced in.” Like picket-style fences and baluster-style fences, post-and-rail vinyl fences are supplanting their wooden counterparts in some neighborhoods. While post-and-rail fences use finished lumber, the “classic” style is the split-rail fence. Split-rail fencing has a rougher, more rustic appearance, as its name suggests (that is, logs “split” by hand to be used as rails). The tapered ends of split-rail fences fit into holes cut out of the posts. In the landscaping photo on this page, the concept is similar, but the execution—and results— are different. Here, the split-rail style is used. More importantly, there’s no mortar showing where the rails meet the posts. Indeed, these masonry posts themselves betray not a bit of mortar anywhere. A coarser example of the post-and-rail style, this utility fence would be much more attractive (but harder to maintain) if painted white. This rather plain privacy fence accomplishes just that, interposing a tall, solid surface between the yard and the outside world. But notice two things about this privacy fence. First of all, the vertical boards are capped by a top railing. Secondly, its builder had to take into account the grade it would rest on. Accordingly, the individual sections of this privacy fence are rather like “steps”: their tops are not on the same plane. The top of the wooden privacy fence shown here is decorated with wooden balusters joined together by rails. As discussed earlier in the context of picket fences, the tops of fences are sometimes fashioned to form a gentle arc, which may be either concave or convex. This privacy fence displays a concave form. Well, that sense of “separation” carries over to the style of fencing known as the “stockade” style. Stockade fences are privacy fences. Tall and solid, they keep prying eyes out of your yard. The tops of their boards come to points, making stockade fences’ boards look like longer versions of those found in Gothic-style picket fencing. The slats in this lattice fence criss-cross each other diagonally, leaving diamond-shaped spaces. The spaces allow for some visual contact between the yard and the outside world, which is why lattice fences are considered to be only semi-privacy fences. The degree to which they offer any privacy at all varies, according to how large the spaces are in the lattice fence. The fence in this picture gives more privacy than some lattice styles do. For added privacy, grow a vine up your lattice, using it as if it were a trellis. But the openings are bigger, affording minimal privacy. This lattice fence, then, is clearly intended to be only a semi-privacy fence, if that. Its appearance is reminiscent of fencing in Japanese gardens. For instance, some homeowners strive for a wild west theme, a Mediterranean theme, a tropical theme, or an Oriental theme. In the fence picture above, the homeowners clearly enjoy a nautical or beach theme. You can practically smell the ocean as you view their creative ship’s chain fence! You’ll often see a fence gate flanked by shrubs, to call attention to it. In the example from this fence picture, there’s that—and more! These folks have gone the extra yard and installed granite columns on either side of the gate entrance. This ornate fence doesn’t define or protect a border. Nor does it offer privacy. Rather, the example shown in this fence picture illustrates how a fence can be an aesthetic component of landscape design. Not only does the fence serve as a backdrop for a piece of yard art, but it also helps break up a vast expanse of the yard that offers little else in the way of visual interest. The yard would look barren without it. And the designer didn’t disappoint. This plant-filled landscape design in Puerto Rico is a tribute to geometry! But note how nicely the background plantings work with this fence. Notice also the coppery post caps, which can greatly enhance the appearance of vinyl fencing. In this example, it is the fence that serves as the backdrop. The small space between the cobblestone edging and the white horse fence is enlivened with a planting of colorful marigolds. Plantings are a good way to dress up horse fences, which are rather plain-looking by nature, albeit charmingly rustic. But the fence planter for this white masonry wall, housing a carefully clipped tree, is part of the wall itself. An ornate wrought iron fence caps off the wall and lends it further charm. The forsythia shrubs form a border of their own, paralleling the post-and-rail fence and spilling over through its rails. In the landscaping photo above, it is rose bushes that are used in conjunction with a vinyl fence. The vinyl fence is rather plain in appearance, so having the roses spilling through its balusters enhances its appearance significantly. But there’s one type of fencing that homeowners tend to want to hide: chain-link fences. In the fence picture shown above, you would barely even know that there was a fence, except perhaps for the presence of the fence post. If you look quickly, all you see is a hedge of rose bushes. But there is, indeed, a chain-link fence here, conveniently obscured by the mass of pink roses. However, fencing can also be used to create divisions in a yard. In this context, think of fences as serving a function similar to that of the walls inside a house, dividing one room from another. Having separate outdoor living spaces allows you to create mini-landscape designs. In a large yard, such divisions can serve to break up a vast expanse into smaller, more interesting groups of plantings, as well. But in fact, hedges and fences can work together to define borders, as illustrated in this fence picture showing a privet hedge with a privacy fence. Working together, a masonry wall and a picket fence stretch horizontally along this property border, to define it. In this fence picture, two different types of fences again work together. But this time, one fence rests on top of the other. It presents an especially sturdy image: raised up to eye-level, the privacy fence takes on a “chunkier” look than it would have if it rested on the ground. Well, they’re pool inspectors! Because of the safety issues revolving around landscaping for swimming pools, pool fences have to live up to higher safety standards. This lattice-style (or “open construction”) pool fence provides not only safety but a touch of elegance. It doesn’t furnish much privacy, however.
