For links to my full restoration process, visit Restoring a Native Woodland Garden.
Eventually this area will be fully open to wildlife, but unfortunately deer can be disastrous grazers, and I have lots of deer that like to hang out on my property. In fact, I was exhausted one day after planting and, since it was almost dark anyway, I decided to wait until the following morning to fence that section. Any guesses as to what I found the next day? Yup, the deer had chewed on every single plant in that un-fenced section! Thankfully they only chewed on the leaves, so the plant would survive, but it was certainly a reminder that deer love to try new plants, and the only way to make sure the plants live to actually benefit the deer long-term is to protect the plants until they can handle predation. I’ve used a mix of whatever fencing I had lying around.
Not the greatest photos because I was taking these through my living room window, but here you can see the deer resting and eating. They’re outside the fence but lying down with the fence to their backs, perhaps because they feel the fence offers them a bit of safety.
I tried to be thoughtful in how much space we cleared, and I purposefully left brush (namely blackberries and salmonberries) for wildlife cover on the perimeter and within the new garden space. Of course, I’ll eventually work to eradicate all the invasive blackberries, but until my new plants are large enough to provide cover, I’ve left pockets of brambles for the critters. These remaining plants on the outer edges of the restoration area are great for wildlife but made fencing a bit challenging!
Rather than fence the restoration area as one large space, I fenced in sections, leaving open pathways between. This allows the deer to follow the same or similar paths that they typically take through my property. And it turns out that they like to bed down beside the fence where two fenced sections meet. Perhaps they feel like the fencing helps provide some measure of safety. I LOVE seeing them on my property and can’t wait until I can remove all the fencing and they can roam freely throughout.
Deer INSIDE the fence…oops!
I will admit that I wasn’t super diligent in setting up the fencing. It’s a very large space and I’m trying to buy as few new materials as possible, so I’m working with what I already have, for the most part. Leaving deer paths, incorporating multiple gates for my access, dealing with a very rocky soil in some sections and very sandy in others, and working around the remaining wild brambles has made setting up the fencing a bit of a challenge.
I set up a trail camera within the garden to get a better idea of how the deer were sneaking in.
Originally the fence was too short and the deer were jumping over, so I had to add a topper. Even with the increased height, the deer continue to sneak in on occasion. I’ll see a weak spot in the fencing, fit it, and wait for them to get in again. It’s a bit of a game, and they’re definitely winning. But since they don’t seem to be hurting themselves or the fences as they come and go, and they’re not doing any real damage to the plants, I’m still feeling pretty good about the whole situation. Despite their occasional break-ins, I do think the fencing keeps them from coming in regularly and noshing with abandon. At this point, I’m planning to leave the fencing up for another year and then evaluate. At that point, I might remove the fencing but keep a handful of particularly delectable plants individually fenced for a bit longer.
