
Iron Gate Landscaping Ideas
Iron gates add a industrial touch to lawns, and frequently have ornate details, like curves, spears, plants and shapes. Historically, these particulars were forged and shaped with hammer blows until versions were afterwards created and filled with molten metal. The workmanship required makes those gates more costly than wooden gates, but you can often see them at estate and yard sales.
Front Yard Entrance
An iron gate produces the entry to your home appear grand, should you use a small gate to get a walkway entry or a large gate to your driveway. Gates using spears add a Gothic feel to this entry, while a curved iron gate is a lot softer. If you can not manage an whole iron fence, then you can use the gate for the entry, with a hedge used as a living fence for your front yard. With no fence to flank the gate, then you will need to set fence posts to mount the gate. A formal brick walkway and well-manicured flower beds in the front yard coordinates nicely with all the industrial design of a front yard iron gate.
Garden Entrance
Instead of place the gate on your front yard for your neighbors to enjoy, you can use the gate as an entrance on your yard where you could view it from your outdoor entertainment area. The iron gate looks especially dramatic as an entrance for a garden surrounded by an iron fence or stone walls. An iron gate left open and dangling from its hinges makes the gate look like a long-forgotten feature of a garden, especially in case you allow plants to develop around the gate to soften the hard iron features.
Trellis
An iron gate having an elaborate network of horizontal cross pieces, along with vertical bars, which works nicely as a trellis to train climbing plants. Iron can seem harsh, but even the most Gothic iron gates can be softened with delicate scaling vines, like sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) and wisteria (Wisteria spp.) . To achieve a more casual or informal look, just prop the gate against an exterior wall or fence. Should you want a more organized look, hang the gate on a wall using mounting brackets. With the assistance of a couple of iron stakes, it is possible to stand the trellis upright in a flower bed, surrounded by other garden plants, besides climbing vines.
Yard Art
The intricate details and careful craftsmanship that go into creating iron rhythm makes them works of art by themselves. If you want to accentuate the detail of this iron gate, then display the gate on its own as yard art. Black plastic zip ties make it easy to attach the gate to steel reinforcing bars, which work as stakes that you can push in the ground to hold the gate erect. A concrete birdbath or fountain helps accentuate the heavy iron. You may also use a iron gate to conceal an unattractive foundation, like a cinder block wall. Simply prop the gate against the wall to divert attention away from the blocks.