Garden fencing

[pioneer]

I have a small annual flower garden, mostly marigolds & petunias, right next to our shed. We have a problem with rabbits eating the flowers. Last year we put up some chicken wire to protect the garden. It worked great except it wasn't very pretty to look at.
Does anyone have any ideas as to how we can put up something like chicken wire but make it look nice?

[Mack]

Hello. This is more commiseration than resolution. I have rabbits and squirrels. They have great entertainment value but also voracious appetites. My vegetable garden is inside a hardware cloth house and my peach tree recently had a hardware cloth gazebo built around it. I'm in the high desert, not exactly easy gardening weather as hot and dry, but I'm able to graze on the fruits of my labor now. As far as flowers, I have graduated to those the rabbits don't eat and have noted that once plants have matured, the rabbits leave them alone. You might try taller plants and fence them only until they are filled in a bit. You might also try putting in some daffodil bulbs in the fall. They will come up first, they are not eaten by rabbits, and your flowers will cover the daffodil leaves as one wanes while the other waxes. Also, you might try some onion plants and garlic plants around the edge. No critter eats them and the garlic blooms very nicely. It was recommended I put garlic cloves in the ground around my roses to prevent aphids and in the test section, the aphids are minimal. Warning: the garlic stalks are the height of the roses which is about 4feet so plant them on the sides or back. They should be pretty though. Maybe I've helped. Maybe I've just rambled on. Let me know your thoughts.

[pioneer]

Thanks alot Mack for your help. The garlic and onion plants sound like something I might try. I'll let you know if it works. I can't believe that even in the desert the squirrels and rabbits are feasting. I would've thought they would stay away from the hot climates.

[Mack]

I have families of both squirrels and rabbits. We have two types of rabbits, cottontails and jack rabbits. Our squirrels are ground squirrels and can really dig a mess under structures and on hillsides, anywhere actually, but always where it is difficult to refill the holes. Good luck with the onions and garlic. We have something here called 'multiplying onions or clumping onions', they grow very fast, develop large clumps, and come back year after year, at least here. If you can get Society Garlic, it's a pretty bush like plant with long stemmed purple flowers, all edible and good for folks who find onion and garlic difficult to digest, or so I'm told. You could scatter a few of those among the posies.

[stripy]

I had trouble with deer eating my hosta and daylillies. My friend had rabbits nibbling her young plants. We have both found using the product, Invisialbe Fence, works to keep both away. It is an environmentally friendly spray and smells horrible while applying it but really works. Fortunately the smell becomes unnoticeable to humans. Last year the deer ate the hosta to the ground but this year they never touched it.

[stripy]

Yesterday I advised you to try Invisiable Fence. I goofed. The product is called Liquid Fence. Sorry for the misinfromation. I hope you find the perfect solution.

[KimmSr]

I have vinyl coated fencing around my flower beds to keep the rabbits, deer, and wild turkeys out and it almost, not fully, disappears into the background.