A Picket Fence for My Front Lawn Curb Appeal: The Special Meaning Behind the Fence

Last weekend I added the final piece to my front lawn landscaping plan to add curb appeal. This salvage iron picket fence not only completes my front yard but it also has a special meaning to me and my work in the neighborhood.

If you’ve been following along, you know that when I purchased My 1914 Bungalow seven years ago I started with zero landscaping. Well, except for the one camellia bush on the right.

Over the years I’ve slowly transformed the front yard into a cottage garden to compliment my historic home. A few years ago I created a detailed landscaping plan and have worked each spring and fall to add the next piece of the puzzle, doing all of the work myself.

In 2022 I added a DIY Irrigation System and have patiently waited for the sprinter boxwoods and hydrangeas to fill in. They’ve grown pretty fast and this year the hydrangeas really started to explode.

Curb Appeal: The Iron Picket Fence

From the beginning I had planned to add a black iron picket fence along the front garden beds for curb appeal. A couple of our earliest houses in the neighborhood have vintage fences and I have long admired them.

I wanted to set mine in between the boxwoods and the hydrangeas to make it feel more structured, and to feel like a cottage garden. Since I need a good bit of fencing, I held off on adding this last piece of the puzzle and was planning to add it next year. Lucky for me, I was able to move up that timeline due to some generous neighbors.

The Special Meaning Behind the Fence

If you’ll remember, back in 2019 I purchased the Queen Anne and my team and I quickly got to work restoring the home. What you may not have known is that when I purchased the house, there was a small section of black iron fence along the front sidewalk.

With trees coming down and the yard being cleared, I removed the fence, set it aside, and then reinstalled once we were finished with renovations and ready to sell.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago and the new homeowners of the Queen Anne continued with the restoration. They installed a beautiful landscaping plan in both the front and back yards. Since the new plan didn’t include the iron fence, they set it aside with plans to use it somewhere else down the road. Because I love all things old and am part hoarder, I of course had reached out. I said if they ever wanted to part ways with it I’d love to use it. Two weekends ago I got a text saying they were finally ready to let it go. And graciously, they gave it to me. How kind was that??!!

With just a little scraping, sanding, priming and spray painting, the fence looked good as new. And as it turns out, it’s probably not quite as old as I originally thought. As luck would have it, I had two pieces I grabbed from the side of the side of the road that matched perfectly. I also was able to buy new matching pieces from Lowe’s to extend it even further along the right side. There’s a chance that I’ll add a few more pieces later but for now, I think it’s perfect.

I love the vintage feel it has and the structure it gives to the garden beds. And I especially love that this salvage fence found another home in the neighborhood. A win in every way.

SOURCES & LINKS:
DIY Irrigation System
Cottage Garden Inspiration on Pinterest
Sprinter Boxwoods
Hydrangeas
Iron Fence Panels
Spray Paint