[Bumblebear]

Quick (and probably stupid) question:  would sheep just stick to eating grass in a garden or would they venture into the flower beds too....

[henchard]

Your flower beds wouldn't have a chance; they will be all over them.

[Bumblebear]

Not me.  I have weed beds But I keep reading about the sheep as lawn mowers thing and just wondered how that would work.

[Bumblebear]

http://www.movoto.com/blog/novelty-real-estate/reduce-animal-unemployment-hire-a-goat/

a bit of fun

[henchard]

But I keep reading about the sheep as lawn mowers thing and just wondered how that would work.

Electric fencing?

http://www.agrisellex.co.uk/articles/electric-fencing-for-sheep.html

[kanisha]

I use my Ouessant sheep to mow as much of the garden as is possible who are often touted as eco lawnmowers but use three strand  temporary electric fencing on those areas I want them to keep off. A sheeps idea of a noxious weed is  completely different to yours.

[bangbang]

We use our shetlands to do the verges along our road, there still having dificulty using
the strimmer though..

[plumseverywhere]

When we were bottle feeding our lambs, they used to roam about the lawn grass (2 at a time so we could keep in control!) while we sniggered at how funny it looked and drank wine 
Now though they are hefty great beasts and would be all over the flower beds and we'd have little chance of keeping them in check!

[luckylady]

They eat all that they can reach!  We keep ours off the fruit bushes and ivy with electric fencing - I feel cruel but it has to be done.  They once got into our vegetable area in the disused foldyard and boy did they have a good time.  Raised beds - just their height!     Nom nom nom!!     Now they know where the curly kale is they won't forget  .

[SallyintNorth]

In my experience, they eat everything that isn't grass first and only resort to mowing the grass when the rest of the garden has been reduced to a wasteland.

They're lawnmowers in paddocks.  They're indiscriminate defoliators in gardens.

[luckylady]

They're lawnmowers in paddocks.  They're indiscriminate defoliators in gardens.

Brilliant summarisation!        

[Small Farmer]

We lent three to a neighbour to help with her heavily overgrown quarter acre garden.  They dramatically improved it over a few weeks so you could tell where the flower beds were etc.  No flowers left, of course, but it was effective.