These Easy-to-Grow Plants Are The KEY To a Deer-Resistant Garden - These picks are as close to Bambi-proof as you can get.
Being outside and enjoying nature is one of the best parts of having a garden. But when your beloved greenery is being nibbled at and eaten by adorable, Bambi-like deer, you’ll be searching for any viable solution to keep critters at bay. While there’s no such thing as a deer-proof plant, especially if Bambi is feeling particularly hungry (they’re even known to eat plants sprayed with deer-repellant), utilizing a variety of deer-resistant plants can serve as a protective measure that can help your garden survive mealtimes.
Deer definitely have favorite foods, but the truth is they’ll eat almost anything—just like humans, they’ll try anything once, according to Dimitri Gatanas, owner of Urban Garden Center in New York. In general, they don’t like plants that are highly fragrant, fuzzy, or have an otherwise unpleasant texture. “The best way to keep deer from eating your plants is to create a sort of barrier around your favorable plants with a variety they may not like as much,” Gatanas explains. “For example, I have my hydrangeas planted behind a border of low boxwoods.” He also recommends blocking deer out as much as you can, either with spiky varieties like barberry or holly bushes or with a thick row of arborvitae. Deer fencing is okay, Gatanas says, and it definitely works, but it’s not his personal preference because it distracts from the beautiful garden you’ve spent so much time on.
Many home gardeners try deer-repellent sprays or fencing, but these are often flimsy and only temporary defenses—you’ll have to respray every time it rains, and deer are known to navigate around barriers. If deer are common neighborhood friends (or pests), they’ve likely established routes and pathways through your gardens. It’s just nature! So do your best to plant deer-resistant types of plants and protect your favorites with a natural barrier.
List of plants with nice photos at link:
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/gardening/g3470/deer-resistant-plants/
I've been steadily putzing at the garden. Bedding plants are ready to stick in the dirt, but there are still some cool nights in the forecast so I'm going to hold off at least another week on that. I planted a short row of radishes and another short row of beets in the ground yesterday. The snap peas are rocking, except for the ones the bunny rabbit mowed down. Spuds are looking great - they need to be hilled up just as soon as my dirt pile is dry enough to work with.
The baby chicks we bought at the end of March are coming along nicely. They're fully-fledged and look like mini chickens instead of little scruffies. They have figured out how to use the ramp to get back inside the brooder house. About half of them are putting themselves to bed at night. I still have to catch the rest, but after they go to sleep they're no trouble at all to collect.
Mrs. Augie mowed the yard at Pops' house yesterday. I did ours after she finished there. Today I'll mow at #1 Marine Daughter's place. With roughly seven acres (about 16 gallons worth) to mow between the three yards I'm not really digging this $4.25 gasoline. lol
It's been almost a year since Howard showed up here. He has turned out to be a wonderful addition to the family. Having him here has been very good for Daughter's Doberman - she doesn't really understand how to play with our Aussie, but she knows how to play with Howard and they get along quite nicely now. He still has the occasional puppy moment, but for the most part he is a very well-behaved dog. We're about ready to start leaving his crate door open at night when he goes to bed and see how he does with the run of my grouch cave.
Good Morning!
((((BUSY DAY TODAY))))
