All about picket fences
Picket fences had humble beginnings in colonial America. Rather than being prized for their aesthetic appeal, they were valued for their ability to keep the chickens in the yard and protect the garden from canine intruders. Thankfully, the rest of the world saw picket fences as something more than barriers. The world saw something far more beautiful.
To this day, picket fences remain much loved. While new designs and materials will come and go, picket fences are a constant on the landscape. The thing is, they don’t have to be constant in appearance. You can build a fence with pickets all cut to the same length, or you can create a curved look by adjusting their lengths and attaching the shortest picket in the centre and the longest at the ends. Or vice versa. You can widen the space between pickets to let more of the front garden show through, and plant flowers around them. Or, you can place the pickets close together to create more of a ‘wall’ look, while still being something that is undeniably a picket fence.
The ways you can change things up doesn’t end there. Different shapes can help your fence stand out. Motueka Pickets, produces eight different kinds of picket profiles, from traditional Square (Blank) and Round, to more stylistic profiles such as Cape Cod, Gothic or Colonial. The use of colour can also make a picket fence distinctive, but the thought of doing all that prep and painting might turn you off that idea. Motueka Pickets to the rescue once again! Our pre-primed pickets make painting easy because the prep is done for you. All you need to do is add a colourful topcoat.
With this versatility of shape, spacing and colour, you can see why a picket fence can be adapted to suit the look of any home. While we normally associate picket fences with traditional character homes or old-style English gardens, they can be made to suit any setting through smart design or colour choice.
We’re not just talking about fences around the perimeter of your home. Pickets fences make great garden borders and are also great for running that border alongside a driveway or pathway. In conjunction with a picket fence at the front of a home, the overall effect can be stunning. They give an outdoor area definition and shape and can be painted to match the colour palette of your garden.
Picket fences can be as easy to build as they are beautiful. Motueka Pickets (again!) manufacture pre-made fence panels in Colonial, Square, Gothic Square and Gothic Curved profiles. These panels fit straight into your fence line. Just insert your posts at the required spacings and attach the panel. It’s a fast and convenient way to create a thing of beauty… or just the thing to keep the chickens in the yard!
