• Ornamental fences consist of panels, posts, gates and fasteners, with optional accessories.fence on wall image by Alexander Zhiltsov from Fotolia.com
  
  An ornamental fence provides a decorative finish to yards and landscapes. It can help direct traffic to entry points as well as deter unwanted trespassers from cutting across lawns and gardens. Ornamental fences can be constructed of powder-coated steel, iron, aluminum or vinyl. They can range in height from just a few inches to well over six feet.
  
  

Posts

• Ornamental fences begin with posts. Square posts are set into the ground at regular intervals to provide strength and support to the panels. The posts are buried beneath ground level and usually surrounded with concrete. The hollow posts can be capped with either a simple or decorative cap. The base of the post can be finished with an optional collar to hide hardware and provide a finished appearance.
  
  

Panels

• A panel spans the distance between two posts. The most common type of ornamental fence panel consists of two horizontal bars with multiple upright bars spaced evenly across the width of the panel.
  
  

Gates

• Gates provide access to areas surrounded by ornamental fences. The gates can blend in with the panels or can be elaborate with decorative scrolls and bars to highlight the entrances.
  
  

Fasteners

• Fasteners attach the panels and gates to the posts. There are several types to choose from, including a collar style, which wraps around the posts and panels, and a clamp style that clamps the panel to the post to secure it.
  
  

Accessories

• Top panels are decorative finishes placed on top of the regular panels, and they're installed in a similar way. These can be as simple as an extension of the regular panels to provide more height, or a series of rings or spears to provide a more decorative flair. Finials are individualized finishes used on panels where the upright rails extended beyond the top horizontal bar of the panels. Finials can be attached to the individual rods or spaced throughout the fence panel. Finials can also be used as decorative post caps. Examples of finials are the fleur-de-lis style and the simple arrowhead-shaped point.