A Backyard is more than a place to relax and share time with family. It is an extension of our personalities. By adding plants, trees, shrubs and garden art we create a feel and leave behind a part of ourselves.

The fall is a great time to look around your backyard and patio area and make changes for a new look. When you look at one area for a long time you tend to overlook things.

One of the first steps to changing your yard is to take photographs. This will help you see your yard from a new perspective. Maybe you didn’t realize a patio window was broke or a step was uneven. A photo often brings these small details to your attention.

Take a look at your layout. Most backyard designs fit in a formal look – straight lines and structured paths. Or a flowing pattern and meandering paths, which creates a more relaxing cottage garden, look to a home.

After deciding on the layout of your garden, and if you are happy with it, you will want to decide on any new plants. Fall is a great time for new plants. They are usually on sale and the plants have time to adjust to their new home without abundant heat.

Japanese Maple and Bamboo are suited for the modern style. Roses and most perennials suit the traditional style and the Black Eyed Susan, flowering herbs and Coneflower are best suited for the country styles of gardens.

Trellises, garden fences and gates create backdrops and boundaries for gardens and other areas of your backyard. They emphasis your plants and make them stand out. The use of short decorative fencing not only creates the boundaries to your garden but also creates a layered look, which adds dimension and seems to expand the look of a yard. In a small space landscape this is a plus.

Small touches will add a new feel and flair to a home or landscape and fall is a perfect time for great landscape deals.

 

There are many concerns to take into consideration when building a fence.

1. What is its purpose? Is it for privacy, to control pets or children or for landscape design?
2. What styles will suit your home? Remember, building a fence takes time and cost money. Although there are fences that are more cost effective there is always cost involved so make sure you have placed the fence in the right area.
3. Check for any local fence restriction in your area and always contact your local utility companies before digging.

The following you tubes on how to build a fence will help you with any decisions and show different fencing styles. These you tubes are produced by home depot and are a bit commercial but they have great information that will help you.

I plan to add a small fence to the front yard that will be mainly decorative. This fence is more of a cottage style design with its main purpose being décor and to help block some of the noise from the highway.

And in the backyard I should add a fence for my dog Taz (the spaz) but so far I have not decided on what style would look good and also contain the Australian Shepherd Cattle dog with attitude. I don’t like the metal look but don’t want a high wood fence either. My selection for this fence design may take some time.

 

Fencing is one way to get the privacy and security that you want in your home. With wood fencing, you get the added advantage of having a great appearance that you don’t get with metal fences. DW and Fence
Creative Commons License photo credit: fauxto_digit

Wooden fences are designed in many styles and with different materials, so you need to choose a fence that fits your own landscaping and has the functionality that you also need in your home. The function of the fence is its primary reason so don’t ignore this.

Depending on the homeowner’s end goal and the style of the house itself, wood fences can sometimes fill the need for both form and functionality. For instance, if your chief purpose is to have a semblance of privacy or to add visual appeal to your home, there are many wooden fence styles that can address these requirements.

However if you need a lot of security, then you will probably need to consider a metal or stone fence. These are much more secure, although the aesthetic appearance is not as good as the wood effect.

If the wood fence design is more important, then here are your choices.

Look at the list and choose the one that best fits your needs and the style of your landscaping.

  • Picket-style fence. This type of fencing provides quaint charm most suitable for cottage-style homes and those with landscape designs leaning towards English garden themes. Picket-style fencing also comes in a variety of types of which the most popular are dog-ear spaced picket, French gothic spaced picket, and the pointed top spaced picket.
  • Split-rail wood fence. Perfect for a country feel, ranch-style homes and those with landscaping inspired by the Southwestern US design should find a good fit with the split-rail wood fencing. The best material for the split-rail style is the Western red cedar wood.
  • Log wood fence. This style showcases the true beauty of wood and best matches houses designed with a rustic theme. While most are installed as vertical panels, horizontals log panels are also not uncommon.

Wood Fence Designs: When Functionality is Top Priority

Wood fencing may be a good choice for its aesthetics but on a more practical level, wood fences best serve two principal functions: privacy and durability. For these two important uses, several wood fence designs may be used:

  • Stockade fence. With the wood slats vertically aligned without spaces in between and the tops pointed out, stockade fencing is one of the most appropriate wood fence designs when the intention is to afford absolute privacy from the outside.
  • Solid board fence. This style of fencing is also great for privacy as it gives a complete barrier to sight. Not only this but it also gives you a noise barrier as well as some security. If you want to improve on the design features, then you can also add latticework to this fence.
  • Latticework fence. These fences are very popular as they give users both privacy and also allow for sunlight to penetrate. Besides this, they also provide space for air to blow through as they have diagonal shaped spaces throughout the fencing. If you want, you can also place the openings vertically or horizontally to create square openings instead.
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