Garden fencing

Garden fencing can be both practical and ornamental, serving to contain flowers and plants or adding a decorative element to an outdoor living space. With the right specifications, some fences can also protect vegetables from hungry animals.

Whether you have raised beds or an in-ground garden, there are a number of fencing solutions that can add style to any yard. Read on to learn more about how to choose the best garden fence for your home.

What to Consider When Choosing the Best Garden Fence

Depending on the reason for adding a garden fence, there are lots of things to keep in mind, including material, height, style, and installation requirements.

Purpose

While some garden fences are chosen to be purely decorative, others are designed to keep children, pets, and pesky critters out. If a critter is the problem, it’s important to identify just what kind of animal has been causing damage to the garden in order to pick the right type of fence to deter it.

Some of the most common culprits are squirrels, raccoons, skunks, deer, rabbits, gophers, and voles. While they can all wreak havoc in their own way, fencing needs will vary depending on the type of creature in question. Generally, tall mesh or wire fencing, rather than ornamental fencing, is best for keeping animals out. 

Material

Garden fences are available in a variety of materials, depending on their style and function:

Wood fences are typically made from redwood, cedar, or pressure-treated pine and can be stained or painted in a variety of colors.

Steel and aluminum can resemble wrought iron and can be painted, making them good choices for ornamental fencing.

Vinyl and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) fences are both affordable and easy to maintain. Because of their weather resistance, these types of fencing can last for years. Occasionally, PVC posts are hollow and are reinforced with other materials like wood or aluminum.

Height

The height of a garden fence can be either an aesthetic or practical choice. Decorative edging might be as low as 12 inches in height, while taller fencing would be necessary for keeping out wild animals. Fences to prevent deer from eating vegetables must be at least 8 feet high because of their jumping abilities, while rabbits can usually be kept away with a 2-foot-high fence.

Fences to deter domestic cats and dogs should be at least 3 feet high and should ideally be anchored with strong posts so that they’re not easily knocked over.

Style

Decorative fences come in a number of different styles:

Picket fencing, sometimes referred to as timber palisade fencing, has a traditional look and can be made from wood, PVC, or vinyl.

Gothic fences take inspiration from the ornate gothic architecture of the Middle Ages. They are typically made from wrought iron or powder-coated aluminum meant to resemble wrought iron.

French gothic fences are typically made of wood, with pickets shaped like spades or arrowheads.

Roman fences are distinguished by their finial-topped posts.

Convex fences have arched panels.

Concave fences are designed to dip down in the middle of each panel like an upside-down arch.

Stockade fences have rounded boards that are pointed at the top.

Installation

There are different levels of garden fencing installation:

Temporary fencing is easy to install and can be moved if necessary. It’s designed with sharp stakes at the bottom that simply need to be inserted into the ground, without requiring any digging.

Semipermanent fencing also utilizes sharp stakes, but because these fences are larger, some digging or hammering may be necessary depending on the hardness of the ground. Stakes can usually be driven into the ground using a gardening tool like a hammer or mallet. Digging small holes, on the other hand, may require equipping a drill with a tulip auger drill bit.

Permanent fencing is less common for decorative garden fences and edging. It requires posts to be set in concrete in the ground for maximum stability.

Our Top Picks

When it’s time to start shopping for garden fencing, the following options consider all the features above, including purpose, style, height, and installation requirements. Here are a variety of choices for the best garden fences to suit most needs and budgets.