Wrought Iron Garden Gate

Exterior Worlds uses a wrought iron garden gate as more than just a security feature or a design device. That’s because it maintains such a strong pull on our imaginations due to its presence in many childhood stories. Iron gates evoke magical places. They call to mind kings and queens and castles.

Just like many of our earliest stories, wrought iron came into its own as an art form sometime in The Middle Ages (which explains the association with tales of secret gardens and getaways). Ever since, blacksmiths, artisans and craftsmen have been twisting and twirling wrought iron into interesting shapes.

Working with the best landscape architects and landscape designers in the area, Exterior World uses wrought iron gates along with other hardscapes. Decorative iron gates work wonderfully as companions to outdoor water fountains and garden structures—garden arbors and outdoor gazebos, to name a few. From the outside, the visitor gets just a glimpse through the iron pickets of what lies on the other side.

The gate can also open onto a pathway that functionally leads your guests into the space. It also serves to visually give the eye a line to follow. By adding a garden arch over the gate, it then becomes a significant entryway. We often make it even more inviting by planting the arch with a colorful vine and adding landscape lighting. The lighting serves two purposes: when it’s dark, it makes for a safe and secure entry, plus it creates an enchanting exchange of light and shadow.

We also like these decorative gates because they improve air circulation within your landscape design. As professional landscapers working in the Houston climate, we are happy to make good use of that functional feature.

Over the years, we have found that wrought iron garden gates work well for our clients as the only wrought iron element in their yard. If clients prefer slightly more prominent uses of iron, we have paired a decorative iron gate with a single wrought iron trellis along a far fence or picked it up with an interesting wrought iron wall element. We have also matched it to other standard uses of wrought iron, such as wrought iron fences and wrought iron driveway gates.

Due to the expense of production, true wrought iron has been consigned to historic preservation projects and is rarely produced today. Most of the landscape products that we call wrought iron, including wrought iron garden gates, are actually made from a material called mild steel.

However, today’s wrought iron gates continue to be functional as security elements especially when equipped with the appropriate hardware and technology. We encourage our clients to review their many options in this area, including electronic keypads, keyless locks and keyed locks.

Wrought iron garden gates serve all these utilitarian and aesthetic purposes. But, due to their iconic place in the human imagination, they can be more. They are the stuff of legends and fairy tales and bedtime stories. They can also simply convey warmth and hospitality to guests, friends and family.