Friends near here have orange snow fencing around their garden. Not very attractive, but it works. There are lots of deer around here but we've been lucky as far as the garden goes - veggies or flowers. Could be the dog, or the two next door, hard to say, but i'm not complaining!

My DH and I live close to the junction of the Little Saskatchewan River and the Assiniboine River. The deer live in the valley next to our home and walk through our 10 acreas on the way to the farmers' fields next to us. It has also been very frustrating to grow anything on the yard...deer love many perennials and almost anything I would grow in the garden. So, after 7 years of frustration we said enough is enough and put up an eight foot fence around our garden to keep the deer out of our garden. It was a lot of work. We used 12 foot treated posts, sunk them 4 feet and then used page wire for the bottom 4 feet and then every foot above it we strung a high tensile wire up to the 8 foot mark. My DH gave me 2 gates, one about 4 feet wide (I can get a wheelbarrow through it no problem), the other one is 14 feet wide...we can get a truck or tractor though it. It has been wonderful to finally have carrots, beets, etc for vegetables. I also grow my extra cannas, dahlias and all my glads inside the fence. Deer love all of those also. My strawberries and raspberries are also now protected as well as the grapes I just planted next to 3 of the posts, on the inside of the fence, of course. I think a permanent solution...a high fence...is the way to go. (by the way, deer will jump a 6 foot fence.) It sure puts our minds to ease when thinking of the garden...no more wondering if there will be produce or flowers still left in the garden the next time I go out there.
Money wise, it was expensive. But..we looked at it as a hobby that we put money into, an investment in the yard. Over the long run...it probably would have been cheaper to just buy our vegetables each year. But, where is the satisfaction in that?

We had deer in our alfalfa fields, but they didn't come near my veggie garden. Apparently deer and cattle don't mix too well, or so I'm told, so that might have helped.

BUT, I had a real time with racoons in my corn this year. Never had that problem before. I have been told that there were lots of them this year, so maybe it won't happen again for awhile as I see lots of dead ones on the highways. Nature seems to have their seasons.

Having cattle, we have access to lots of electric fence, so DH and I are discussing about putting some of that up around my garden next year....having one wire close to the ground for racoons and one higher up for deer, if they decide they should like my vegetables. However, I'm at odds with that too because I'm a wildlife nut and I figure they were here first and each to their own. I could have sold a lot more corn though. LOL

Oh well, I have all winter to think about this. LOL

Betty

Thank you all!

Marciaz,
I'm sure, having dogs around helps.
Have talked to my neighbor and found out, there garden have been eaten too and he thinks because he has no more dog, accidentally, he drove over him with the tractor about a Year ago

Valleyrimgirl,
I wish I had your fence!...might just build one some day.
Wow...You have a very large garden by the sound of it,... you put in some Grape, can you please tell me what kind, have put in just one plant today from friends,
I think it is Valliant, spelling??

luvveggies,
some of the small animals can do sometimes allot of damage.....that's a good way to go with electric wire just above the ground, it will not kill the animals, but
they will remember!

Konrad