Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog


February 1, 2008

Iron Work and Art

Category: Gardening and Landscaping – Steve – 2:47 am

Jan28$33.jpgThis gate is a fairly wild example of what is possible in working with iron.  It was done by a “crusty but benevolent” Reno artisan who has a small following of appreciative tradesmen.  He has left an most remarkable legacy behind his travels and installations and this is a real work of art as well.  He did the iron inside this 15 million buck home, climbing the circular stairs, painted and strewn in exactly the same fashion as this one here.  The beauty is in the detail and the overall perfection of the work.  It is gentle, shapely and thin, very tastefully done. The colors of the blooms are fascinatingly chosen as well. 

Iron work had a pretty vast number of possible applications. There was some thought given to matching this style with chairs and tables out back.  Indeed, we inserted many lights with a similar “floral” motif:  colored lamps with frosted glass shaped like tulips and other flowers poking just as delicately out of the ground and lighting up various spots in the landscape.

Iron may also be used in fencing, providing a strong barrier for privacy not easily traversed.  I have seen slews of examples of this in landscapes all over the world, some with exceptional art work applied.