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lavender_lass

Security Breach! Security Breach! LOL

lavender_lass
13 years ago

There's evidence that my Celsiana rose was snacked upon last night by (probably) a baby deer. A few branches have been nibbled...but only where there was a small gap in my lavender. I have two Hidcote lavender plants from Lowe's that I was going to put in the kitchen garden, but now they're going in the front bed. Also will probably put my hyssop and other herbs in the beds in front of the house and porch.

Luckily, there were no flowers on the damask, just some new growth, so nothing tasted that good to the deer. Some more lavender and herbs should encourage them to go back out to the pasture.

No problems yet with the fairy garden...I think the blueberry bushes are working just fine. The butterfly bushes and lilacs are helping, too. Like I've said before, the deer aren't hungry, just curious. As long as the plants in the field, taste better than the plants on the edges of the garden, I should be okay.

Anyone ever seen Disney's animated movie, Rescuers Down Under? There's a great line, where the bad guy is telling his animal....my mental capacity is twice that of yours---you pea brain! I joke with my husband, I think that might be me trying to outsmart my deer! (LOL)

Comments (8)

  • gldno1
    13 years ago

    ll, you need to read Cameron's Blog; she is the expert on deer resistant plants!

    Now if I could just find an expert on Japanese Beetle resistant Gardens............

    I am glad they didn't completely chomp down your roses!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cameron's Blog on Deer Resistant Plants

  • bev2009
    13 years ago

    I'm glad you didn't lose much. My son has surprised deer in the backyard in the middle of the night on several occasions, but I don't ever see much damage. They must not like the flowers I have to offer.

  • lavender_lass
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    No nibbling last night :)

    I planted the lavender and put out a few pots of hyssop around the roses. I'll plant those later today, along with the other herbs. I've seen the babies and they're so cute! I can't get too upset with them, they're just trying new foods. They sample all kinds of things on the edges of the kitchen garden, but this is the first time up by the house. I think the lavender should keep them away, from now on.

    I'm pretty sure it's the babies trying the food, since they've snipped off little pieces of the butterfly bushes, a tomato plant, a few strawberry leaves and even a few small branches of the pontillia (sp?). They've also tried a few peas and even a coneflower or two. Since they rarely try the same plant twice, I'm guessing the little ones are discovering these are not plants that deer like to eat :)

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    13 years ago

    LL, so it sounds like your saying that lavender actually keeps deer away from your garden? As opposed to them just not munching on it you think it acts as a deterrent?

  • lavender_lass
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thyme- The Hidcote lavender has worked really well. Great fragrance, very winter hardy and keeps the deer away from the rest of the garden. Lavender, salvia, cosmos, alyssum, they all seem to be keeping the deer away. Also, the lilacs, butterfly bushes and blueberries have kept them out of the fairy garden...at least, so far.

    Now, I just need to find some garlic to get rid of the aphids that have suddenly appeared on my roses. I have ladybugs, but they're all in the kitchen garden on the weeds I'm trying to get rid of this weekend. Maybe I can move the ladybugs up to the front garden, by shaking them off the weeds and onto the roses :)

    I'm not saying lavender would keep out hungry deer, just that these deer don't like the smell...and they're not hungry deer, just curious. Very cute, though. Two moms and three babies (who still have their spots) that travel back and forth, along the creek, between our place and a few other places down the road.

  • DYH
    13 years ago

    Deer do not like to walk through lavender because the oil gets on their hair and then they smell too good to attract mates! :-) Same with rosemary and some (not all) agastache, btw.

    It would take thickly planted rows of lavender to keep the deer out. If they can go around a few plants, or reach over a plant, they will. A friend of mine owns a lavender farm and she grows it thick enough around her roses to keep the deer out.

  • ali-b
    13 years ago

    Those cute but frustrating deer! I just bought a landscaping rose on clearance. I thought it would look great in the new bed outside my garden fence. I tested it for a few days in the spot I wanted to plant it. And, well.....all the ends of the leaves got a little nibble. So, it gets to go into my deer test reject garden inside the fence which is really beginning to fill in now. haha.

  • lavender_lass
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Ali-b, In the kitchen garden, the deer have chewed on the Therese Bugnet, but not really come back to it. The only roses they haven't shown any interest in are the snow pavement rugosa roses. They're nice little roses and they look great with purple clematis. They're supposed to be deer resistant...and they are, so far :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Snow Pavement Rose

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