Wood is such a magnificent building material. It’s strong, it’s beautiful, it’s easy to cut and shape, and it can be used to create delicious eye candy inside and outside your home.

My lovely wife enjoys outdoor gardening. One day she handed me a gardening magazine with a color photo of a decorative wood fence. “Do you think you can recreate this for me along our west property line? This decorative fence will provide an excellent backdrop for my garden plants. The plants will stand out much like artwork does on a painted wall.”

There were no dimensions in the article. I knew the fence would make her happy so I accepted the challenge. I knew I could create them using my hand-held circular saw.

That project activated my decorative fence-post radar. Each time I saw a wood fence, I began to take mental photographs of any unique posts or fence panels I saw. They could be found at the most unusual places. The city zoo, public gardens, private gardens opened for tours, state parks and garden centers.

Realize this was before the internet. Today we are so blessed to be able to see thousands of photographs of wood fence posts using image searches and on websites dedicated to outdoor home design.

Several months ago, I visited a large public garden in Southern California. While immersing myself in the thousands of stunning plants and trees, I found myself walking on a wood-plank pathway. It was bordered by a simple wood fence with stunning 6 x 6 decorative wood posts.

While admiring the workmanship I thought, “Just about any homeowner could replicate these posts.” The first thing to do is practice. That starts by purchasing one 8-foot-long 4 x 4 plank.

As you study photographs of decorative posts, note how the geometry of the cuts is often created using simple 45- or 30-degree angles. Common circular saws can be set to create these angles. If you have access to a table saw, you can achieve the same results.

I suggest you cut the 8-foot 4 x 4 into four 2-foot-long pieces. You can now fashion eight fence post designs if you want. The decorative posts I cut for my wife all those years ago were created by making 20 saw cuts at the top of each post. I was able to complete all the cuts in about 10 minutes.

I spent just five minutes drawing the lines on the wood that I’d follow with the blade. You’ll discover you can master simple and precise cuts with just an hour’s practice.

Once you’ve achieved the confidence to create the posts you want, it’s time to select the best timber. Redwood and cedar contain natural preservatives that can resist rot and insect infestation.

Locust is also a fantastic species for posts. These are hard to find, but if you can locate them, give them a serious look.

Should you decide to use treated lumber, I urge you to take your time when selecting the post material.

Look at the ends of the timbers and choose ones where you can see the center of the tree when it was a seedling. These posts will resist warping and twisting.

Purchase treated lumber rated for burial in the ground. This lumber contains more of the copper preservative to resist rot and decay.

I recommend you stain or paint all wood posts before you install them to minimize water from entering the wood.

I’ve had the best luck setting fence posts in crushed gravel. I’m not a fan of using concrete. Should you have to remove a post, concrete can make it an arduous task. Fence posts that only poke out of the ground 4 feet or less often don’t need gravel around the posts.