Gabion Fencing

Years ago, I read somewhere about Gabion fencing. Probably because we live on a gravel and rock flat and the rocks seem to grow out of the ground every spring.

Basically, it is a way of using excess rocks and stones in a practical way, by making a wire cage to contain them and turn them

in to a stone fence. I have made a few gabion cages around trees that I wanted to protect from the deer (in my yard they are voracious and refuse to believe there is anything they do not like..apparently, they do not read the same gardening magazines I read!)

But last year, someone bought a large piece of property about 5 miles from our house, and proceeded to put in a huge gabion fence that bordered the entire length of his property. He put a cement lining under it and drilled the posts at measured intervals. He also (much to our personal skepticism and ridicule) brought in loads of rock and stone to fill the cages

he built.

In the long run, it was his money, time and energy, and needless to say, the ensuing fence is a thing of beauty...

A Very Brief History of Gabions

Gabions, originating from the Italian name gabbione, which means “big cage”, were used during the reign of the Egyptian Pharaohs and later in Europe during the Middle Ages. The Egyptians made them out of sedges--think bulrushes like Moses’ basket-- and filled them with sludge to stabilize the banks of the Nile River. The Europeans made gabions out of woven sticks and filled them with stones to fortify castles as well as for erosion control of river banks.