Beyond the Garden Gates of Key West

 

Next time you’re in Key West, take a site-seeing stroll through neighborhoods and make a point of looking at the different styles of garden entrance gates.  You’ll discover the most imaginative and creative styles, some are simple and understated others are elaborate and ornate. From custom wooden trellis’s spilling with tropical flowers to simple white picket fence gates, from hand-built Japanese style arbors to large exotic teak gates imported from India, from classic wrought iron gates, to French doors set between posts that look like they open right into the house.

I take long walks around the island nearly every day, sometimes late at night to take-in the tropical breeze and view the unique landscape lighting, and I always wonder, “What’s beyond these secret garden gates?” Key West is known for its unique creative community, and the garden gates are yet another reflection of the collective personality our little island city.