Hi GPODers!
Today we’ve got a short story that is a tale as old as time, or as old as gardeners have been planting flowers to be enjoyed rather than munched on by curious neighbors. Kathryn ‘Kit’ Jensen has shared her garden a couple of times in the past (Check out those submissions here: Bulbs in Northeastern Ohio and Finding Solace in Kit’s Garden), and today she’s sharing a very relatable run-in with a cute but destructive garden guests.
I live in an older suburb of the metro Cleveland area—South Euclid. We are blessed with city parks, a section of the Metroparks, and creeks. The downside is the deer. The city, like others, is experimenting with deer sterilization.
Below is doe #45, named after her tag. Now, three sides of my backyard are fenced but occasionally deer will wander up the driveway.
This became the favorite spot for #45, under the redbud trees, next to Solomon’s Seal, and white anemones, tucked behind a curve of perennial chrysanthemums, zinnias, alyssum, a tree hydrangea, verbena bonariensis, purple lovegrass, and “pearl”, a yarrow. Idyllic! There she was on a September morning. After persuasion, deer #45 left.
But…here is #45 back again on the second morning, and after spraying. The rope in the background is a clothesline I used to deter deer from munching on the oakleaf hydrangeas along the fence over winter. That works.
The third picture is my solution—garden chairs and flower stakes sticking up in the bed between the chairs.
So far, so good. Have others found inventive ways to prevent deer from moving in on gardens?
We’re lucky to have a a pretty decent sized fence that keeps deer from snacking on our plants, but we haven’t been so lucky with the groundhogs. We’ve tried just about every deterrent and used every material possible to block holes and potential entry points, but they have the will and find a way. Whether its deer or a different kind of garden pest, let Kit and I know in the comments how you deal!
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
Scotts Cordless Grass-Shear/Shrub-Trimmer Combo
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Dramm 17050 50′ ColorStorm 1/2″ Standard Soaker Hose
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Fiskars 28" Power-Lever Garden Bypass Lopper and Tree Trimmer
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Comments
Ah yes, the hooved minions of Satan. So far none have ever tried to sleep in my garden. I spray repellent weekly, twice a week on the tulips then on the daylilies when they are blooming. This year, one of them got a taste for Hydrangea paniculata, a plant that has never been munched before. The upside...Vaniila Strawberry is not flopping :).
For most critters I've had good luck with this recipe: 1 cup caster oil, 1 cup dish washer detergent, poured into 1 gallon of water and mixed. I pour about 2 cups in a hole and wait a day. Then I stuff newspaper in the hole or fill it in to see if the occupant has left. If they haven't left, I
treat the hole again. The critter licks the mixture off its fur and gets a stomach ache. I've never had to do it more than twice.
Relatable indeed! I live in a very small town also in Northeast Ohio (Garrettsville). We have less deer pressure than the suburbs because there is more natural habitat for them to browse. That being said, they are a constant presence. Our property is on a river, which is a main thoroughfare for them.
I have adapted to plant things they do not prefer, with the exception of a few roses. (Rose buds are apparently caviar for deer.) But I’ve had good results the last few years deploying Safer brand’s “Deer Off” canisters in the roses.
The groundhogs are unfazed by anything. Since I’ve learned to plant things they also don’t prefer, we usually see them munching plantains and clover in the lawn, and on the violets I allow to edge some beds. (I adapted my entire lower garden because of them.)
We also have resident skunks, who I welcome because they eat the grubs in the lawn. We have had drastically reduced Japanese beetles the last couple of years! We just stay in during their nocturnal foraging hours, or announce ourselves calmly if we need to go out, but seldom see them.
Beautiful photos of the doe, and such a pretty garden!
I love a wildlife friendly garden that creates environments for wildlife to find shelter and food.
I always feel honored to have them in my city garden- even if they eat some of my plants.
Hooved minions of Satan!!! PERFECT! I have found a mixture of one part milk (any kind, going bad, whatever) to 3 parts water and peppermint essential oil (add in proportion to the amount of water/milk), It works a treat and keeps rabbits away as well - they apparently don't like the smell of milk or peppermint. Of course, you have to respray after rain. We have a 5 foot fence around our backyard because of our inground pool - haven't had any of them try to jump in. I only have to use the spray on my front borders - especially my day lilies. I know the deer are pretty, but they sure are destructive and carry so many ticks!
I gardenat a lake in the Cariboo country of BC, about 400 Km northeast of Vancouver. The deer up there have never read the list of deer resistant plants. Even if the plants themselves are not tasty, they will nip off the flower buds when they are just ready to open. The best deterrent I have found? I have 3 to 4 ft pieces of wooden dowels which I paint with PlantSkydd and then place like stakes in the garden at 4 to 6 ft intervals, especially beside plants that are ready to bloom. The wood dowels soak up the deer repellent so it doesn't wash off. I only have to refresh the repellent once or maybe twice during the growing season.
Would love to know what the purple flowered plants are in the foreground in front of the deer. What a beautiful photo that is. Thank you
I think the plant you are noticing is Verbena bonariensis -
https://www.finegardening.com/plant/tall-verbena-verbena-bonariensis
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/verbena-bonariensis/
long ago in fine gardening a responder to your W question [like macbeth, we don't say or write the full name] related that he regularly peed a boundary to the garden and they stayed away. proof was when he went away for a week, they decimated it. [*you called them Gs but here they are Ws.]
As for deer, in susan kierstead's n.h. nursery , she collected human hair at her hairdresser every week, and placed some in the middle of all her hostas, and the deer stayed away.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in