Tips for Living in Harmony With Deer

There is no such thing as a 100% deer resistant plant, since deer change their dietary habits constantly according to changes in the weather and conditions. It all depends on what is available at that moment in time and from late summer to spring, deer will eat most anything. Set up your garden for success …

Bulb 101-Tips for Growing and Deer Strategies

September means ordering bulbs and getting ready to plant in October and November. I plant bulbs in my garden every year to increase my varieties and numbers as I like to bring fresh cuts in to enjoy. The average vase life for tulips is a good 10 days! But many people ask what varieties I …

How to Landscape Your Yard With Deer Resistant Plants

Deer resistance is a huge buzz world in the gardening world and for good reason. Many of us battle these animals daily and too many just throw up their hands and give up. All it takes is to educate yourself on the many possibilities that are available - both native and non-native - and throw …

Callicarpa – Beauty + Fruit Combine for a Great Native Plant

American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, is aptly named as the latin name means beauty +  fruit. The purple jewel-like berries are arranged artfully on cascading branches of this wonderful deciduous and deer resistant shrub. Native to the central and southeastern United States, it is found naturally growing in open meadows and woodlands. A nutritional powerhouse, with …

Ostrich Fern-Deer Resistant Fool-Proof Ground Cover for Shade

Ostrich Ferns pairs well with spring ephemerals such as trillium

Fern Resurgence Ferns are enjoying a resurgence of interest and popularity recently, primarily because of fitting into older shady landscapes and their superb deer resistance. The wetter climate that we have experienced in the last couple of years is also a factor that makes people look at this class of plants with renewed scrutiny. Ferns …

Winter Aconites-First Sign of Spring

Bring the little blooms in to brighten your home and they are extremely fragrant!e

Sunny yellow blooms fringed with a fringed ruff poking through snow is my first sign that spring has sprung. Eranthis hyamalis, or Winter Aconite, in the buttercup family, is a spring ephemeral, which means that it is a short-lived plant above ground with a burst of blooms, then disappears, remaining under ground until next winter. …

Carolina Sweet Shrub-Another Deer Proof Shrub Addition

If you have deer visit your garden and want some color in partial shade or sun, consider planting Calycanthus floridus. A wonderful, easy-to-grow shrub, Carolina Sweet Shrub features strongly fragrant dark red flowers in early summer. The show doesn't stop there; the leaves often turn a nice shade of yellow in the fall. Carolina Sweet …

Enkianthus-Uncommon and Beautiful

If you are looking for an easy care shrub, with little to no pruning, deer resistant, and fabulous fall color, look no further than the Red-Veined Enkianthus. Award of Garden Merit Plant Enkianthus campanulatus 'Showy Lanterns', the red-veined enkianthus has always captured my interest with its striking hanging bell-like flowers. In the springtime, this shrub …

Clethra: Deer Resistant, Fragrant, and Pollinator Catnip

One summer day working at a client’s garden doing routine maintenance, I caught a whiff of wonderful fragrance on the breeze. After searching for the source, I came upon a mid-sized shrub full of narrow, spike-like creamy white flowers with an extremely sweet fragrance. Alive with insects darting in and out, the shrub swayed in …

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