Last winter, rabbits devastated almost everything in this garden. Young trees, berries, herbs, and even evergreens were chewed down - bark stripped, pine needles eaten, and grape vines reduced to tiny stubs. We returned in spring to what looked like total loss.

But nature had other plans. Nearly everything grew back. The grapes pushed new shoots, berries recovered, the perennial beds revived, and even the evergreens began putting on new growth.

This taught us two major lessons:

1. Protect young plantings - To protect young trees, vines, and perennial plants, we now place a loose 1/8-inch hardware cloth guard around each trunk or plant base. It stands off the bark and functions as a protective sleeve without touching the plant. Around the outside of both the test garden and the orchard at the base of the graduated-wire deer fencing, we install a 2-foot strip of poultry mesh, with the lower few inches buries to prevent rabbits and other small animals from pushing or digging underneath.

2. Support natural predators - The rabbit damage also encouraged us to strengthen the presence of natural predators. So far, we've installed kestrel boxes, and the tall 12-foot round wood posts used for our 8-foot fencing now serve as natural perches for hawks and other birds of prey. We also plan to add owl boxes as part of our ongoing effort to support raptors, which are our best long-term partners in keeping rabbits and field rodents in check.