What is the point of a garden fence?

Garden fences are valuable for both practical and aesthetic reasons. A garden fence can help protect your garden and home from

Animals - particularly curious neighbourhood dogs, or kangaroos in rural areas
People - especially if vandalism or theft is a concern
Weather – particularly strong winds that might damage vulnerable plants

Garden fences can be greatly customized to your situation. For instance, many people find gardening certain plants difficult as possums or birds will savage their plants before they can finish growing. Specific garden fences can help with that.

In Australia, you can invest in a type of fence that is difficult for possums to climb such as takeaway fencing or even anti-possum spikes. There is also specific netting that you can string from fence to fence to protect your garden from birds while still allowing in the necessary sunlight to let your plants grow.

Can you DIY a garden fence?

Absolutely! Garden fences are one of the best projects to DIY, because the risk is so low. The most common types of fencing – such as timber and wire – is an easy DIY project that you can undertake with little experience.

If you have a more specific look in mind for your garden fence, it may be a good idea to contact a contractor instead. Brick, stone and metal can be difficult to work with, so these are not the best material choices for DIY garden fencing projects.

If you really care about the appearance of your fence, DIY is probably not for you – fences made by inexperienced hands will rarely turn out to be aesthetic masterpieces. However, if you need a fence for purely practical reasons (such as keeping pests out or keeping pets in) by all means, DIY.

What are the benefits of installing a garden fence?

Garden fences provide numerous advantages. Choose your material and design wisely, because this will influence which advantage the fence gives your home over others. Different types of garden fences can provide:

Privacy
Shelter
Decoration
Protection
Definition

What is the cost of installing a garden fence?

On average, the cost of installing a garden fence in Australia is between $2,500-$3,500. This includes the fencing services i.e. the installation of the fence by a private contractor. If you are DIY-ing, the cost will be as low as the price of materials.

Common variants which influence the cost of a garden fence include

Size of the area to be fenced
Type and availability of material
Difficulty of installation process
Complexity of the fence design

Do you need a permit to install a garden fence?

In general, Australia does not have strict laws on garden fencing. However, if your proposed fence is taller than 2.1 metres you will most likely need a permit. This varies from state to state.

State	General fence height permit threshold (m)
New South Wales	>1.8
Queensland	>1.8
Victoria	>2
Northern Territory	>1
South Australia	>2.1
Western Australia	>1.8
Tasmania	>1.2

Note: not all of these heights require permits (although many will). This is a guideline to standard garden fence heights.

Fence garden ideas: 10 garden fencing ideas and images to inspire your garden bed fence

10. Black Wood