I've heard that hanging a bar of Fels Naptha soap near the plants will keep the deer away, but I can't find the soap in the stores.

Hi LL, I don't grow berries, and all I can tell you is the spearmint is aggressive, it tries to take over the world, and no way can I keep it under control (but you knew that already).

What I really want to say, it's so good to hear from you again! You've been awfully quiet lately...

Thanks, Bev :)

Ogrose- I've been trying to redesign my kitchen garden a bit (really more of an addition) to try to make room for more berries, shrubs and perennials. I'd like to have a few annual beds, but more in the center. It's nice to have the color in the perimeter beds, in the early spring. I'm thinking of adding some more peonies and bulbs, too.

At some point, I may have to admit defeat and fence in a vegetable garden...but for now, it's fun to try to out think my deer, with some success. I don't know what that says about me or the deer...but that's my garden challenge! LOL

After talking with my mom yesterday, we think it would be a fun experiment to plant spearmint with the red raspberries. As she said, you can't get much more aggressive than red raspberries and spearmint, so we'll see if they can keep each other in balance. I'm kind of looking forward to trying it, since that would mean more berries for me, if it works :)

Having all berries, shrubs and flowers in the perimeter beds, will make the garden a lot more structured. I think this will make is seem more like a 'kitchen garden' than a vegetable garden. Also, I really like berries! LOL