Cottage Garden Fence

Way, way back, before the cold snap hit here in November, my son built us a new fence.

 I had some very specific needs for it: 

*The gate had to be on a spring, and swing closed so the grand fairies didn't let the dorkies out.*

*The gate had to be very lightweight, and it had to open easily, so those fairies could get in and out by themselves.*

*IT HAD TO BE PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!  And if it looked like it belonged on a fairy tale cottage, that would be a big plus.*

The gate is under the deck off my husband's office, right outside my studio door.  Here is a photo in process, where my son started wrapping vines around the posts. The top photo shows all the vines twisted into place.  I plan on planting Clematis at the base of it, to fill in even more.

The metal filigree panel at the very top, under the deck, is a vintage one I had hanging around. The ones built into the fence and gate are from Hobby Lobby, and were on sale for 50% off.  I love my son's idea for building them in. 

The area outside of my studio is where the girls play most of the time.  So, their Daddy made the fence feel like a play area instead of a barrier.  He cut hearts into the wood so they could peek through.

And he drilled holes to pound marbles into, to give the space some sparkle.  There are plans to add a lot more marbles later on, but while finishing up the fence, we were hit by a huge wave of cold air.

It was the weirdest thing, one minute, it was a beautiful fall day…. the next, a huge whirlwind of leaves blew over us, bringing temperatures about 10 degrees lower.  From one minute to the next, the temps dropped. And then kept dropping.  So, we were done working outdoors for a while.

At first, I was worried about the kitties, and wondered if a new fence would pen them in. Nope, they love it and spend a good part of the day running around on the top of it.

And now, our entire courtyard is fenced in. The place looks like a maze, with so many partitions and gates, but the dogs and chickens love it.  There is a fence in the front yard, with a doggie door for the little fuzzballs.  Then, there is a huge chicken run.  And the side yard is fenced. Now the courtyard. All the gates can be opened to connect them, or only select areas can be left closed off.  And then, there are extra gates big enough to drive a truck or 4 wheeler through if jobs need to be done in that part of the yard. And a gate that can connect our yard to the neighbor's yard so their dogs can come and play with our dogs. 

It's kind of weird. But that is how my whole house is built too.  All customized just to fit our needs.  We will never be able to sell this odd conglomeration of mazes, doors, hallways, gates, fences.  We are stuck here forever.

We don't mind though. We all kind of like it here.