March 12, 2000
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Plants Deer Don't Normally Eat
March 12, 2000 |
One of the greatest tragedies of all gardening time is the advent of the huge deer population in almost every state in the United States and probably many parts of Canada. It is not the deer's fault they love to eat our gardens, but at the same time, if doesn't seem fair that they do. Outsmarting deer has become an obsession for a lot of gardeners I know and keeping them at bay is a long term commitment. Most rural and suburban gardeners in the northeast are aware that deer damage is one of the most daunting and frustrating problems we face. My vegetable garden and my flowers have been damaged more than once by the very large herd of white tails we have here. I don't know if my blueberry bushes will ever recover from marauding Bambies. Almost everybody I know has tried one remedy or another from sprays to hair to soap to decoys, all to no avail. These deterrents may work for a while but eventually the deer will venture forth and nibble on your plants. Short of putting up expensive fences or rounding up the deer and shipping them to Oklahoma, planting annuals, perennials and shrubs that deer do not care to eat is about the only way we can have pretty gardens around here. Here is a list of plants deer don't normally eat derived
from my own experience and that of other gardens both public and
private.
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