Oh, Deer - you won't believe this...
Here's the before......our beautiful hosta beds.
Every year they look like this - lush and gorgeous.
Actually, this is only about half of them because
they wrap around the pine bed.
However, enter a guilty culprit....and probably the whole family....
Amd all of our gorgeous hostas
are reduced to this for this year!
I don't like Bambi any more!
If you know anything about hostas, you'll know that
they grow up in early spring and that is the end of it.
They will not regrow their leaves.
This is their status until they die off in the fall and come back next spring.
The deer just had a big salad-fest!
And then they munched the flowers off the geraniums on the right side of my porch.
(Are they Democrat deer who eat the right...
or Republican deer who love the right??)
Fortunately, they left the geranium on the left alone
(again...Dem or Rep???)
They also went after my begonias!
See how the tops are eaten off?!
Fortunately, they continue to grow and bloom
and have already improved.
They don't seem interested in lamb's ear
(must be that velvet texture!)
And my stokesia (Stokes' Aster) are blooming just fine.
And I'm letting some of my hydrangeas dry on the stem.
That seems to be the best way for me to dry them.
The blue fades, but the green/mauvey, purple is mighty pretty.
If Bambi and her buddies eat those,
them somebody might be cooking venison for dinner!
I used to think I had a green thumb - sort of....
What do you call a green thumb bitten off by deer?
Mamally challenged????
Blessings to you!
Linda
Joining
Between Naps on the Porch for a bad Met Monday
A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday
(if she'll let me : )
27 comments:
Oh, no! They must have really liked the hosta leaves, because that is a ridiculous amount to eat. Maybe they have had their fill and will leave you alone. I keep waiting for a deer to jump our fence and start munching away, but so far so good.
Your hostas looked lovely too, however I daren'teven think about planting them - the dreaded slugs
would do just as much damage...I'd rather we had beautiful deer to eat them!
You seem to be taking this with a grain of salt and a sense of humor! Holy cow... did they ever feast on your hostas! I didn't know they stopped growing like that and I have had them for ages. The uneaten flowers look wonderful! I hope you don't lose any more, Linda!
XO,
Jane
Oh no, Linda! How beautiful they were, too! I have heard deer like hostas, but lucky for us we don't have any around our area. I wonder if there is something you can plant around the hostas that will deter them.
I'm usually getting mad at the squirrels but the scalping of my garden would have me going after a deer!
Oooh, Linda! How sad! I have had a similar problem in the past so now I use Deer-Off after every rain. It smells horrible...but it works! Happy weekend!...hugs...Debbie
Oh my gosh I have never seen anything like this. How dreadful...I know it's too late for this year but I have used a product called Liquid Fence. You would probably need to buy it by the gallon to cover all of your beds. It has an awful smell but it works. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such a nice comment. Here's to next year!
Oh Linda, this post has me laughing. Such a clever post. I know it's not funny to go outside and see the destruction to your plants, but you sure turned it into fun commentary. What the deer didn't get looks beautiful. I want to see a photo of you, sitting in the dark in the early morning hours, with a shotgun in hand! laurie
Well those deer critters certainly had a great feast alright! I guess you have to be thankful they left the rest of yur garden alone...it still looks pretty.
Hugs,
Sandi
I feel your pain! We have a terrible deer problem around here. I spray a product called "Liquid Fence" on my plants and they leave them alone. It's worth a try!
Oh, you poor girl! Those deer really destroyed them, didn't they? Wow! Have you tried Deer Spray? Well, I guess it's too late now.....We have them come through our yard, too, and I've always been careful to plant stuff they don't like out in the yard. My hostas are snuggled up against the house, and so far they've left them alone. :)
xoxo laurie
Oh no. I love hosta... and deer... but...
Dropping by from Met Monday. I hope you'll come see the safari nursery.
Allison
Atticmag
A green thumb once-removed-by-deer-family??? Sorry...I'm no comic ...
I didn't know hosta and geraniums tasted good to anything. Seems like I remember someone saying putting hair clippings would keep them away...I have no idea...
Have a beautiful but deerless week!!!
Try cutting the hosta off several inches off the ground and it should grow back with leaves (if the deer let it alone) my MIL cuts hers off in the middle of summer if the leaves are getting "ugly" from bugs, etc. and she soon has nice leafy plants again.
Oh no Linda! I feel your pain, those naughty, naughty deer! Very soon, I will probably be disliking them as well since they are constantly in our yard right now.
I feel so bad for you,
Hugs,
Cindy
Linda, Oh, that is so disheartening. Your poor hostas. We had deer a couple of years abo in the winter but haven't seen any since. Fortunately all they could find then was our Indian hawthornes, which of course regrew,
What will you do with the areas where the hosta were eaten? Could you plant annuals around them to "disquise" the stalks?
I'd love to know what you decide.
Hugs,
Babs
First time here, I saw your heading at BNOTP and knew what I was going to see. At my last home, the deer would sleep in my YARD during the winter. I found that they adore hydrangeas and would walk through the garden to make sure they were always trimmed just so. I now live in the city and I can grow what I want. I miss their beauty but not their hunger for cultivated plants. They were welcome to all the grass they wanted, but, like humans, they had their favorites to munch on. It is hard to be patient, isn't it?
I think I would cry!! Your bed was beautiful before the feast. I also use Liquid Fence. Very stinky, but only overnight, and seems to be effective. Needs to be re-applied after rain. I thought it was a little costly to apply, until I began to add up how much I have invested in hostas, roses & hydrangeas. Worth a try--nest year!
Oh no! You have just been attacked by hungry deer. They have never eaten our hostas, I did not know they like them. Guess we've been lucky...Christine
If deer ate my hostas, I would have a fit. Though there are lots of them around, we are lucky to be in a spot where they do not venture....or eat!
Oh my! I didn't realize how much the deer love Hostas! My gardens are full of them and so far I guess they just haven't found them. We don't see many on the cove we live on.Hope you will come by and see my newest find. Blessings, Debbie
Ewwww! THEY DID love your hostas didn't they!?!?!? I'm sorry that happened to you - they were so beautiful! I came by via Susan's party, but I missed it myself. I took pics of my pergola all dressed up this afternoon (with the 2 hour lull in the rain), and I REALLY hope you'll stop by and take a peak, and let me know what you think of the progress! :)
xo,
A
Your hostas are beautiful. I have them all over my property too. Darn dear they really had a snack! Good to see you here!
Allow me to help you and everyone else who may have critters gnawing on your hostas, begonias, and anything else leafy and edible. I was watching the news and they did a report on a new garden product, Repellex. It was developed by a professor at the University of Minnesota at Duluth. He figured out a way to take the active ingredient that makes peppers hot and put it in a tablet form. You take the tablet stick it in the ground next to your plant and it will be absorbed into the root system and distributed to the leafy part of the plant in 7-30 days. The best part it lasts a whole year. NO reapplying anything after it rains. I don't work for them or sell it. Right now my yard is a disaster, but I've got it on my list of things to buy in the future. Good luck. The hostas were just lovely. http://www.repellex.com/Systemic_Repellents-Systemic_Tablets_50_Ct.html
Oh my Bambi was a bad boy! I know you were sick.
I feel your pain! A deer munched through our pansies and a few other things too. They are a real pest. Sorry about your gorgeous hostas!
Linda, your post is full of laugh. Such a clever post. I know it is not funny to go outside and see the destruction to your plants, but you sure turned it into fun commentary.
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