Nicole Johnsey Burke plants native species around her vegetable garden instead of a traditional fence. The native border feeds wildlife, creates habitat for pest predators, and attracts pollinators, reducing damage to crops while supporting the ecosystem.
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When people see me harvesting like this and they see that my garden is backed up by woods, they're like, "What? You don't have a deer fence?" And I'm like, "No, I have a living fence. Let me show you." So around the entirety of my vegetable garden, I have planted a native plant garden. I lined the whole thing with plants that grow natively in my area. This works great to provide food for wildlife so they don't come and eat from my garden. It provides a place for predators to lurk, so that smaller animals don't like to go in my garden because they're scared, and it also supports wildlife—things like bees and butterflies. So if you feel like you can't garden because the wildlife is going to come in and eat it all, you need a native plant living fence too, and you can get started learning my way to do it right below this video.