I may have stumbled onto something. Last year was our first in our new house. In March, I bought 2 rose bushes and planted them. My new roses were the main course on our mule deer menu. I couldn't keep a bloom or a new shoot and finally just gave up. In October, my two rose bushes were no bigger than when I bought them due to deer grazing.

This year, I bought more roses and now have 11. I figured that the more I have, the better chance I would have in seeing good blooms before the deer got to them. I also discovered companion planting for pest control. I decided to plant garlic around my roses, to help with the aphids. I have 6-8 cloves planted in a circle around/underneath each bush, just inside of the drip line. They have sprouted and the shoots are now about 12" tall.

The deer have come through my yard many, many times and have not made any attempt to eat any rose bushes yet this spring (knocks on wood). I have seen them sniff the rose bushes and then turn and leave.

Is it possible that the garlic planted around the roses have repelled the deer? Will fresh growing garlic disrupt their sensitive noses? I know they don't like garlic based sprays but, I haven't seen anything about fresh, growing garlic doing this. Do you think I may have found something that might work against deer long term?