When Dave purchased the house we live in several years, the yard had a lovely garden fenced off with simple silvered wood posts and beams with two entrances, neither of those having a gate. It’s really a lovely area with an unfortunate tendency to be overrun with a couple of different runner weeds which refuse to die. Without gates, our dog enjoys wandering in and around the beds and pooping in the walkways because apparently the yard is not enough for him…heavy sigh. One of the garden entrances is generally overrun by the grapevines which run wild on that area of the yard so I haven’t been terribly concerned about it, the other is wide open.
Two years ago, I had a wild creative streak and some extra time so I picked up a few large branches from the side of the road by my neighbor’s house then set about building a natural gate which was the only thing I could think of that would go with the silvered wood of the fence. I knew it wouldn’t last, but I had a blast making it.
Sure enough, this spring the gate gave up the ghost and I knew I had to come up with a new plan. Fortunately, we had decided to reduce the size of the garden for the eventual addition of a patio with a fire pit. The removal of the unwanted vegetable beds provided silvered, weathered planks which were also pretty decimated from holding dirt for years. They were sad looking but I was positive I could pull out enough lumber for a new gate. And I was right! Barely, but I was right! I did manage to get just enough to construct frames but I needed something to go inside the centers.
Voila!
Last year I bought this fireplace grill from the local thrift store for $10. At the time, I had a couple of ideas of what I would do with it but as so many other items, it wound up in my craft room waiting to be used. I cut the stems and leaves off, spray painted them silver to match the wood then set about arranging them in my frames.
Holes were drilled, construction and wood glue were used to keep the pieces in place, hinges were added and my gate was assembled! I decided upon a three piece design this time due to the opening being approximately 66” wide. The weight of the wood and metal would be too much for two pieces plus I like having a smaller entrance. As shown in the photos, I built three separate sections, two of which are connected with hinges so I can still open the full 66” if I want but we will generally only use two.
This is the part where I would love to show pictures of my project swinging gently on its posts, however, I can’t. While Dave had cemented in the right post during his remodel of the fencing so it stands nice and straight, the left post was not been touched, a feature which showed when I tried to line up the left portion of the gate to the right side, oh boy did it show.
So…here is the finished gate where it will eventually be living. Three parts of the garden makeover are completed, so many more to go but the more chucks I finish, the more excited I get!
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