Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Deer, Oh Dear
It's that time of year again. I now see deer in greater numbers, same as the non-migrating geese that carpet open meadows. The bucks are in rut. Having thrashed small trees to death in stripping the velvet off their antlers, they now leap out into the road in pursuit of does, heedless of any passing vehicular traffic. Does are grouping up, accompanied by their yearlings. In other words, at random times of day from morning coffee to midday lunch the view out the kitchen windows often includes deer.
Coming out of the woods.
Disguised behind an almost leafless hydrangea.
Startled, when I tap on the window. The dark brown spent flower heads shake like a pair of maracas.
Would that they only ate plants past their prime, weeds such as garlic mustard, invasives such as Japanese honeysuckle, even native plants like poison ivy. Far from it, deer would rather dine on a salad bar of hosta and tulips, rhododendron and roses. Ah well, winter will reduce their larder to the woody plants. And I'm becoming adept at selecting plants that I find attractive and they, unpalatable.
Anything fuzzy, such as lamb's ear, Stachys lanata, and lungwort, Pulmonaria saccharata. Anything with strong scent, such as herbs. Ornamental grasses are ignored (deer are browsers, not grazers), as are ferns. Any plants in the Amaryllidaceae, which includes daffodils. Likewise anything in the Araceae, or Aroid family, which included Jack in the Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum and the Asian arisaema; elephant ear such as Colocasia, Alocasia, and Xanthosoma; caladium too. Canna are untouched. So you can see the Bambi depredations may be aggravating, but they are far from universal. There are some small palette of plants amongst which a beleaguered gardener can choose.