Re: Amer. Gardener article/Wild Greens

Eating is bad, but I really get crazy when they take on my young trees. The #@% bucks clean their antlers on them and have barked and killed a couple. I try to get protection around them before the "season", but invariably guess wrong.
Cathy
On Friday, January 23, 2004, at 05:32 PM, Aplfgcnys@aol.com wrote:

In a message dated 01/23/2004 6:12:08 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mtalt@hort.net writes:

Well, add to your list any of the Euphorbias.....they don't touch
them and some ought to grow for you.  They also have never eaten my
Mahonia nor do they touch Hellebores, so if you don't have those,
they are something you can add to your garden:-)  I've also never had
them eat any ferns and there are tons of lovely ferns available.



I haven't tried any of the Euphorbias outside (have a couple of cute
succulent ones in pots). You're right, they have never touched my Hellebores. I lost
a Mahonia some years ago before the deer became such a problem, and have
never replaced it. They nibble, but don't do much damage to the Leucothoe that
took its place. One thing they never seem to bother is goldenrod, which I treat
as a noxious weed in the flower beds. Sometimes, when I am rooting it out and
swearing at it, I wonder why. Surprisingly, though, I have tried the
cultivated varieties, "Fireworks," and "Golden Fleece" a couple of times and they
didn't even last a season. Another plant that has never had much damage is
Santolina ericoides. It is rather pungent, and they don't seem to like "smellies."
That's not a reliable rule, however, for they will eat tomatoes and
marigolds which are quite sharp. Also, they don't often browse groundcovers - just
too lazy to bend down, I guess. I have had a miniature rose growing below a
path that runs along the top of a little ridge for years without any trouble - I
think it's just below their vision.
I have a small bamboo - haven't a clue as to what species - I took it from
the garden of a Japanese house (had been brought piece by piece from Japan in
the 20s or 30s) that was being torn down to make way for a shopping center. The
bamboo must be one of the clumpers, because I have had it for 30 years and it
hasn't spread. Grows about 4' to 5' tall. The deer have never touched so
far as I have noticed.
Sometimes I can grow a plant for several years without any trouble, and then
one day it will be gone. I thought Pulmonaria were pretty safe, but last
spring they took out a whole patch.

I'd love to send you some pictures if I can get some nice ones this spring.
My garden doesn't meet anybody's standards for an orderly landscape, but I do
grow a bunch of interesting things, and "plant" people usually enjoy it. A
lot of it looks as if it just happened, which is the way I like it.
Auralie

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