When I lived in the hills overlooking Silicon Valley, my garden was always getting munched by deer. I had to find a way to fence them out, but I was on a tight budget, so I used the materials at hand: windfall redwood branches. They were abundant, renewable, and free. Left on the ground under the trees, they were also a fire hazard that had to be cleared periodically.

Redwood branches make durable, attractive deer fences and trellises. Anchored in holes in the ground, the branches can be woven into unique trellises for growing green beans, peas, cucumbers, indeterminate tomatoes, thornless blackberries, and flowering vines of all kinds.