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AS A GARDEN DESIGNER, I’m a fan of dark fences. Their color provides an emphatic backdrop for plants, but doesn’t compete for attention. Until recently, though, the only ways to achieve a fence in a sophisticated chocolate, gunmetal or charcoal shade were paint (fated to peel) or stain (likely to fade).

No more. The Japanese art of charred wood—known as shou sugi ban—is making inroads in American landscaping. It’s believed that the technique’s Asian roots date to the 1700s, when the Japanese first started subjecting wood siding to fire as a way to preserve it. The charring protects the timber from sun, wind, water, decay and, yes, fire, greatly extending its life.

Recently, American landscape designers and architects have begun playing with this seemingly pyromaniacal technique when it comes to fences, and loving the results. Charred wood is seductive—its appearance ranging from lightly scorched to something resembling dried prehistoric lava or alligator skin, depending on the degree of burning. When shou-sugi-ban boards are used en masse to surround a garden, the effect is elegantly mysterious.

Ithaca, N.Y.-based landscape architect Marc P. Keane, who spent several years in Japan designing gardens, is well-versed in the practice. "As with so many things, the Japanese have refined the process to an art," he said, noting that they primarily use Japanese cedar. "It’s a clean-grained wood that burns very well. Most lumberyards in Japan sell beautifully wrapped bundles of the shou-sugi-ban boards," he explained. Mr. Keane is about to enclose a garden at the Cornell Plantations at Cornell University with a charred cedar fence, the first time he’s applying the technique in North America.

Boston-based architect Sebastian Mariscal got a chance to use shou sugi ban for the exterior and surrounding fence of a minimalist house in Carlsbad, Calif. "It’s not often a client allows their architect to experiment with a new technique," said Mr. Mariscal, who worked with his own crew to get the admittedly challenging, time-consuming process right. Degree of difficulty aside, he said he’d use it again for the right project. "It has a beautiful depth you don’t get from a stain. As the light hits the surface, it can go from silvery to gray to brown," he said.

This is not a project for the casual DIYer. Fire safety is essential, said Mark Word, a landscape designer in Austin, Texas, who has installed a number of shou-sugi-ban fences for clients. "You don’t want to just take a blowtorch to your fence," Mr. Word explained. "To get the right look, you really need to control the fire." Traditionally, boards are burned over an outdoor fire, drenched with water, then brushed to remove excess soot. Read More

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