Making Places for People A garden is a protected place. The protection can be from the eyes of strangers, from marauding animals, or from the neighbors' kids and pets. It can be from invading roots of weeds or trees or from harsh winds. You can achieve this protection with some kind of fence or wall. Or they're hedges of living plants.
Small protectors are usually fences of wood or wire mesh.
Large fences or walls that are able to serve as true privacy or noise barriers or are strong enough to completely exclude people and other forms of wildlife are quite expensive. Perimeter walls are often subject to zoning regulations and require a building permit. If you can afford to, consider hiring a specialist contractor for larger fences and masonry walls. Building-supply companies carry fence materials of all kinds and have a wide selection of prefabricated wooden fencing. Farm-supply stores stock both wood and wire but have a wider selection of wire fencing, as well as materials for electrical fences.