passage
Maria inherited gorgeous wrought-iron gates from her father and was looking for a creative way to incorporate them into her gardens. We agreed that to adequately honor these gates, the wall had to extend tall and wide from each side of the gates to embrace their size and encourage guests through them instead of around them. The curves in the wall soften the formality of the gates, and provide protection from the wind for plants. In thinking of the overall design, we were drawn to the idea of passage–the passage of time, the passing down of heirlooms, the passing through the gates from one side of the wall to the other. And to further symbolize this, we included a moongate as a visual passage–allowing people to look through the wall, and a lunky–a passage for small animals to move through or to take shelter. The lunky is mainly used by Maria’s French bulldogs, and at night, porcupines, rabbits, and the occasional fox.
This project was completed in sections over two years and was a labor of love by an amazing team. The stone work was a Tall Grass design, built together with stone wallers Jamie Masefield and Jonny Labate. The gate frame, as well as the hawk and nest sculptures above the gate were made by sculptor and metal worker Tyler Vendituoli. Special thanks to Willie’s cousin, Amos Horn, who helped get the build started, as well as Moe Dubois for his expert site prep.
Location: Hinesburg, VT
Materials used: phyllite, field stone
Dimensions: 80' x 8' x 3'