CHAPTER VI 



GATES, FENCES, AND EDGINGS 



It is generally possible to estimate the style of garden we 

 are about to enter, by a mere glance at the fence or wall 

 which surrounds it, and the gate or door through which 

 we gain admittance. Almost invariably like encloses like 

 — the staring fence with ugly gates forms the boundary 

 of a garden where artistic taste is conspicuous by its 

 absence, and, on the other hand, the really beautiful 

 garden is complete even to the girdle which separates it 

 from the outer world. The work of the skilled designer 

 does not stop short at the gate of the garden, but embraces 

 this structure itself, and is not ended until another step 

 would bring us to our neighbour's property. As a good 

 picture may be spoilt by bad frame, so may a good garden 

 be ruined by ugly boundary lines, and it cannot be said 

 that the question of suitable gates and fences is either 

 irrelevant or unimportant. 



Entrance gateways, and those leading to stables, do not 

 concern the garden architect, so that I shall only speak of 

 the smaller posterns and wickets, which communicate 

 from one part of the garden to another. Often these are 

 plain and ugly to a degree, and being merely constructed 

 of close-fitting boards, serve their purpose, but are in no 

 way picturesque. The choice of an artistic design does 

 not necessarily mean that its practical utility is sacrificed 

 in the very least, and it is the manner in which the two 

 are combined that proclaims the good or bad architect. 

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