First of all, to keep the dogs out of the garden, I put up a fence. I had to use some crummy chain link fence sections that I took down from where they were originally used to keep cows out of the yard. Also, the posts were pulled up from other fences that were not wanted, since the neighbor's cows no longer were allowed to graze on my land.
Where the cobbled-together look was achieved was on the side where the cows were on their own side of the fence. There was barbed wire on that side. I used some of the many rolls of rusty fencing found on the place. It was tall enough to keep the dogs out. But the cows found the grass on my side preferable to theirs, being of course lots greener. They leaned over and soon the fence was squashed down.
It became a saga after that. I used more of the chain link at the top, until I ran out of that and used a second section of rusty fence. This took some time, to wire the stuff into place. Admittedly, it looked tacky, but it kept the cows from grazing.
Last year, I transplanted a lovely long row of yellow day-lilies along the fence, confident that now the cows couldn't eat them. I believe they are a bovine treat, the way the stray cows devoured them when they were loafing in my yard. From the many times that the cows and calves got out, I began to see that the best place for flowers would be in the fenced garden. I moved the birdbath to inside the fence, so it wouldn't continue to be an attraction for every passing cow. It's been only two days since I caught three calves munching the remaining young day-lilies.
This spring, for the first time ever, I had rabbits eating the young broccoli and cabbage plants. The problem with the garden fence was that those sections were hog-tight, with free admittance for interested rabbits. The side with all chain link was fine, with the thick grasses growing up along it that would deter all but the most determined rabbit from digging in.
The other day, I bought some chicken wire that turned out to be flimsy and pretty worthless for the last addition to the cow-side fence. It was fine, however, for making this U-Scratch portable cage for Betty, who arrived by Pet Taxi. Iris showed too much interest in the chicken and was banished to the house for the afternoon.
I found a roll of green plastic chicken wire that was just the ticket for completing the fence. After running the weeder along the fence, I spent hours wiring the plastic to the other layers so that nothing could get through.
Of course, the fence still does nothing to keep the raccoons and possums from going over it and eating my strawberry crop, but that's another project.
