D.P.P. Update with a Mystery

If you've been reading my blog for some time you know of my battles with deer.  This year I implemented my Deer Protection Plan (D.P.P. described here) and have had remarkable success.  Read that as still having leaves on my hosta at this date.

Today I noticed one hosta had been munched.

So I looked closely and could see that the fishing line was dangling between two trees. 

No other hosta had damage.

 I thought maybe the deer reached its neck over the brush fence to chomp this one hosta.

The rest of the fishing line seems to be in place.

But there's a mystery. At the other end of the yard in the perennial garden 

the clematis which has been blooming so lovely shows chomping. 

 

There's even a petal on the ground.  

Hmm.  Deer?  Ground hog?  If it was the latter it wouldn't have stopped with so little eaten.  But if it was a deer why didn't it eat the Autumn Joy 

in the same garden 

or any of the hosta on the way over to the clematis?

  

And how did it remove itself from the backyard with all my fencing and fishing line?

It's a mystery that will unlikely be solved.

UPDATE: Friday morning

Well, it's definitely the deer because hosta that were fine yesterday are leafless with only stalks showing.  The deer have made it through my defenses BUT it took them this long to do so.  In all that time I had the enjoyment of my plantings.  These hosta would be disappearing shortly any way.

This is the hosta to the left of the swing in the photo above.

Bunny & Blooms

There's nothing to give you the size of this bunny rabbit, but it is tiny.  So small it fits through the wire fencing around the vegetable garden.  I've scared it out of there and seen evidence its nibbled on ripening green beans.

It is a cute one and I enjoy seeing it in the backyard eating the crabgrass.  Dan noticed it last night up on the deck (one step off the ground so no great distance for it).

In the Perennial Garden the predominate color is now yellow with the black eyed susans blooming.  The moon flower on the trellis gate has grown big but though there have been buds I've missed seeing the blooms.  I believe its an evening bloomer.

The white butterfly bush in its first year has put out the blooms and the butterflies have found it. The fishing line (deer deterrent) is visible there.

Speaking of deer deterrent - I still have hosta.  Love the green of this large one.  

I did have one flaw in my fishing line system that left an opening between my brush fencing and the fishing line.  At least on one occasion a deer got in.  I saw its tracks and with some sleuthing discovered the entry point.  More fishing line went up and that seems to have worked for now.  The final test will be when we are away for a week later this summer.  Deer always seem to know when the coast is clear.

Early Morning on a Hot Day

Tuesday was forecast to be a scorcher with strong thunderstorms later in the day.  I knew I needed to mow the backyard so before 8 am I was out there.  First though I took a walk around with camera in hand.  So many new flowers are in bloom.  The Perennial Garden is filled with the fragrance of the white Easter lilies.  Never have I had so many blooms.

Can you smell them?

Here's another lily in bloom.

And the astilbe.

This gorgeous phlox came from an internet friend.  Don't you love the striping on the petals?

The trellis is filling up with a moon flower vine.  There are buds on there so I will watch for it to bloom.

This day lily outside Dan's study has massive blooms.

Another daylily making an appearance.

The Deer Protection Plan * is keeping the deer out with one exception this morning.  Dan called to me early this morning that a deer and fawn were outside the gate. Unfortunately the fishing line from the right of that gate to the stone wall was high and the fawn was going under it.  I told Dan to shoo them away but when he went out his study door the doe went to the right away from the backyard and the fawn ran to the left into the yard.

*More background on the D. P. Plan here.

You can't see the fishing line that's below the fence line. 

The fawn ran to almost the swing and then ducked through the fence and I guess missed the fishing line.  I did look to see if it broke the fishing line but the underbrush has grown up beyond the fence and obscures the line.

You can see that the hosta are fully grown and lovely with no deer damaged leaves.  I want to keep it that way especially as the hosta put up flower buds which the deer savor.

I will go out this morning and put up more line at the point the fawn entered, lower this time, and also to the left of this end of the Glen Garden which is another possible easy entry point.  I'll also be heavily spraying with liquid fence at those points.

The predicted storms came through with lots of heavy rain, thunder and lightning.  Luckily we missed the hail and strong winds.  The humidity is lower so I've turned off the AC for now and opened the house to the birdsongs and breezes.

D.P.P. Update

I wrote here in detail about my Deer Protection Plan (D.P.P.).  Since posting that the arbor and gate have been assembled and placed at the west entrance to the backyard.

It's a rainy day so there's no outside work to be done other than quickly stringing more fishing line to close up the space between the arbor and the stone wall.  Eventually plants & bushes will fill this space as outlined in #4 of the D.P.P.

Here's how the arbor looks now.

Standing on the deck looking west across the perennial garden the arbor is barely visible against the woods.  It's there to the left of the upturned wheel barrow.

A closer view.  A's garden there by the wall will be expanded to the left.  The fairy house I built will likely have to be moved.

Now you may be wondering why the arbor is turned to almost face the woods.  I did that for two reasons.  It was flattest there and I didn't want the deer to have a direct view into the garden from that west side.  The space from the arbor to the wall will have to be filled with bushes deer don't like to block the space and their view in.

Also by turning the arbor this way from the great room we have a framed view of the woods beyond.

To block access in the meantime there is fishing line strung from that black post to the arbor.  Also from the arbor to a tree trunk on the other side.

Unrelated to the D.P.P. - here are my tomato and pepper seedlings. 7 varieties of tomatoes (back) germinated a week ago and 4 of peppers (front) germinated just this week.

Deer Protection Plan

Now by that title it sounds like I'm protecting the deer from who knows what.  But in fact I'm protecting the gardens from the deer.

This winter I read two books that have been my inspiration. 

Deer-Proofing Your Yard and Garden by Rhonda Massingham Hart

and

50 Beautiful Deer- Resistant Plants by Ruth Rogers Clausen

Based upon what I learned I have a 9 point plan.

1) Spray Liquid Fence regularly.

I started this last week on the emerging day lilies and will have to keep it up on a weekly basis as other deer favorite delicacies emerge.

In the autumn I will need to spray it on junipers to protect them from winter browsing.

2) Create a downed wood fence along the glen.

  It will be the first line of defense next to the plantings, then fishing line.  I started the fence last year and have been adding to a short section.  Saturday I had help building the last section though it will need to go taller over time.

3) Install a fishing line fence along the glen.

I purchased 20 lb. monofilament line to string from tree to tree about 2-3 feet off the ground.

Supposedly the deer won't see this but will feel it and back off.  If they are fleeing they may break it.  I'll have to take that chance.  Not sure how it will affect birds. I completed this task today.

4) Close off the west entrance to the backyard with an arbor and gate.

I purchased this arbor and gate from Plow and Hearth.  It will need to be installed and then planted on either side with bushes and flowers that deer don't like.  I'm thinking butterfly bush, black snakeroot, morning glory, and Russian sage.  The idea is that you block the deer's view into the yard and deter them with plants they don't like.

5) Close off east entrance to backyard.

No arbor here just plantings of ostrich fern, Russian sage, black snakeroot again to discourage them from investigating further what's beyond that they cannot see.

6) Remove hosta from under east window.

This is another possible entry point to the backyard and with the hosta there invitingly they will then move on into the backyard.  I hope to plant red hot poker, butterfly weed, in place of the hosta.  I will probably also have to remove a phlox which they love.

7) Interplant more ferns with the hosta I have along the glen edge.

The idea is to confuse them with the plants they don't like.

8) Protect English laurels with winter fencing.

These are evergreen bushes that the deer don't eat during the growing season but come winter with nothing else green they devour all the leaves.  For 2015-16 and beyond I'll fence the deer out.

9) Russian sage hedge

To discourage deer from entering the yard from the north I'll plant a Russian sage hedge that will direct them away since they can't stand the scent of Russian sage.

Here are some other photos.

This is the east entrance to the backyard.  Fishing line starts on nearest skinny trunk and goes to small beech tree then to the right.

  

Fishing line catching the sunlight is visible here.

 

Looking west out of the backyard.  Arbor and gate will close this off.

Standing at the west entrance to the backyard looking east.

Next part of this plan to complete is assembling the arbor and gate.