Dana/Mikey Goats

Next stop on the garden tour is Mikey and Dana's. Remember, this property had 4 goats on it for about a month. That's some intensive grazing. Given the time, the goats stripped the yard of any leaves under six feet. Even the plants they first shied away from - aucuba and holly - were completely denuded.

Now that I think about it, the length of time it took for the goats to naturally transition from more palatable invasives to less attractive ornamentals would be valuable to know.

Notice the leveled plane of vegetation in the pictures below. Somebody over there came up with the idea of hanging weights on the limbs to give the goats access to more leaves. Sheer brilliance.

Above is the previously impenetrable corner of privet, honeysuckle, and English ivy. A little elbow grease and a couple of goats, and voila, recovered yard space. What's also interesting is the goats' stripping the bark off the trunks of the larger privet. Those privet "trees" were left standing, but perhaps girdling them in such a way would be enough to kill them. Guess we'll find out...