What makes an ideal front-garden entrance?
Substantial masonry piers or timber gateposts with finials make the entrance imposing. Use dark colours to pick out the design of an openwork gate and light colours on a solid gate. Think of the background against which a gate is seen – a plain one such as a lawn allows for a more elaborate design, whereas a fussy background needs a simpler outline.

Is a gate a focal point or a frame for the view beyond?
The piers or posts frame the view but the gate itself can be a view-stopper if it is solid or highly decorative. A light, openwork gate, such as ironwork, offers an ornamental, intermediate layer to the garden, but one through which a view can be seen. These gates or screens are called clairvoyées as they entice the eye beyond.

Where is your favourite garden gate?
There are lovely simple wooden gates based on 18th-century originals at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, USA. Many similar gates are depicted in 17th- and 18th-century painted views of gardens in Britain, such as those illustrated in John Harris's book The Artist and the Country House.

George Carter
Award-winning designer of gardens and architectural ornament.
01362 668130/ 07768 446941.