A gate does a lot more than let someone into your garden. It tells them a story about who lives inside and what to expect once they're there. Use these imaginative gates from Rosemary Beach, Florida, to help match your personality with a design that tells the world who you are.

Choosing Materials
Integrating a gate with the feel of both the house and garden is the key to good design. A great place to start creating this unified look is with the building materials you select. Birmingham architect George Israel says, "I look at a home and garden as a painting or a composition. All the materials should have a relationship to each other and complement one another." When George designed the Gothic arch gateway for John and Teresa Gaskin, he repeated the concrete arch from the front door and the multicolored-stained wood from the house. "A garden gate, just like a front door, announces the entrance to a visitor," says George. "Making this a clear statement gives a welcoming feel to your home or garden." Using bold or bright materials will go a long way toward creating this invitation.

While some gardens look best with simple gates, others ask for something more complex. Layering the materials used in an entranceway can convey a sense of antiquity. "In older cities, you will see an eclectic mix of materials, often added over time, such as an exposed layer of redbrick next to newer gray mortar," George says. "Replicating this process can be lots of fun." George added an area of redbrick to separate the imposing concrete-gate archway from the whitewashed house wall. He then dropped a couple of red pavers in front of the gate to repeat the color. "I think this results in the arch speaking clearly on its own without losing its relationship with the house," he says.

Placing the Gate
Another good way to create an inviting garden gate is to put it in the right spot. George always tries to place an entranceway on axis with the street and any other significant features in the landscape. "We wanted a fountain in the garden, so it just made sense to line it up with the gate," says George.

He also considered the arc of the sun and what types of shadows would affect the entranceway. "The Gaskins' neighbors have a tall tower that blocks the eastern sun, so we placed the garden on the west side of the property," says George. The gate, with its variations in colors and shapes, benefits from the play of light in the afternoon. Long shadows create intriguing images as the sun moves across the sky. All these elements combine to provide a unified sense of invitation to the garden, asking visitors to come on in.

This article is from the Favorites 2005 issue of Southern Living.