Fences and cork tiles

A fence is a fence is a fence, or so I hear. It is a wall that keeps out wandering people and stray animals and wind blown rubbish and it gives the home owner a sense of security. It should be simple to have one erected and if you have the money it is simply a matter of getting someone to erect it.

Or is it?

The problem lies in our desire for a particular fence. A fence to enhance our property, to make passersby say ‘wow’ and also for the owner to arrive home at the end of the working day and be able to say – “Great fence” and smile smugly knowing that the money was well spent. Fences are not cheap.

I am planning a fence and I had a view in my mind of the fence I wanted.

At the moment I have a silly little concrete fence that comes about halfway up my shins. The metal gate of the same height isn’t worth opening and we all step over it. On either side of this gate there is a pillar that comes to about my mid thigh.

I have removed part of the fence to put in an entrance for my car.

When I first put it in I imagined that I would have a high pillar on either side of both entrances and very close together palings in between.

This is not to be. The fencer gave the fence a shove with his foot and announced that the whole structure had “had it” I would need an ordinary paling fence. I also want a sliding car gate and that makes a pillar pretty impossible.

He has quoted for a paling fence but when I visualize his idea I’m not sure that I am going to have that smug pleased feeling that I desire when I arrive home at the end of the day.

I have talked too much about it to the people who matter in my life and have now taken on a suggestion, said with exasperation from one of them, that I get in landscape gardener to see the area as a whole with the fence as a part of the garden/courtyard..

The area behind the proposed fence is small but in this inner city where every bit of land counts I believe it should be an area where we can have breakfast in the summer and where there is a feeling of beauty and peace. I have a vague picture of a cross between and Italian and Balinese garden

I don’t feel creative when I think of how to do it. In fact I feel bewildered A landscape gardener is coming on Saturday to sort out that bewilderment and give ideas.

And I’m coming round to the idea that there are some things that we don’t know how to do ourselves and professional help is the only way to go. I come from a long line of do-it-yourselfers and it is hard to admit that I don’t have the knowhow.

Now that I have some holidays I am full of ideas of things to do. I want to paint the boring cork tiles. Replacing them is expensive and the fence problem comes up again. I don’t know what I want to replace them with but I have decided that I do want to paint them to cheaply create a different ambience.

I have been to two paint shops without having got very much advice. They both say they have never heard of any one doing that before. This doesn’t seem to be a reason not to do it.

I will keep exploring these two issues – more to come.