Garden fencing doesn't just protect your garden from stampeding pets, squirrels and children. It also adds an extra visual touch to your landscaping. Gardens are all about layers and textures. Think for a moment about the most drab gardens you've seen. I think of the sad rows of tulips or petunias smack against the walls of some neighbor's houses.

What makes them drab? It's not the fault of the flowers. Rather, the fault lies with the way they were planted: in boring and tedious rows. Lack of creativity and dynamism leads to cookie-cutter landscapes. The easiest way to create a dynamic landscape is simply by adding layers and textures through foliage, flowers, rocks, sculptures, birdbaths, and yes, fencing.

Choosing Garden Fencing Materials

Garden fencing isn't meant to protect your garden against invading armies. If it were, you would never get to see your beautiful arrangements behind the fence. Instead, fencing should provide moderate protection while enhancing your garden's already existing beauty. For this reason, you should choose your fencing materials carefully.

Specifically, you may try to avoid fencing that would look too hard, imposing or distracting next to your landscaping. Instead, try for materials and designs that complement and play off the strongest elements of your garden. One example is bamboo fencing. With its light creamy color and strikingly straight shape, bamboo plays off beautifully against deep green foliage and unruly sprays of flowers while providing an effective barrier against garden invaders.