A couple of my gardens such as they are
 

I really need to do a lot more work to get these guys where I want them to be.
The first one runs the length of my house and down the side of the fence and then around to the front of the fence. I have managed to weed about the first 10 feet or so.
The second one is my work in progress. By the end of the summer I hope to have it to the point where I will be proud to show it off. Whew! Better get started!!
The last one is my visitor today. He actually came back tonight and stood by the catuary watching the kitties for a while till it started pouring. The cats were quite interested in him too.

The gardens are looking good. :thumbs up You'll be surprised how quickly they'll fill in. In my experience, my garden never looks good enough. I always see what's wrong with it while others never seem to notice what I see. :laughing:
Gardening with deer around will be a big enough challenge for you. Hopefully they won't find a lot of your plants tasty. :rolleyes:

Cindy

I have lots of hyssop growing around my gardens. Deer don't like the smell. Neither do bunnies. Surprisingly the deer don't come up that close to the house. I will probably lose some plants once I get the new garden finished. It is farther from the house.
You are right, we are never happy with our gardens. I have a sis in law who does gardening for other people for a living. I get to listen to her "advice" all the time. I don't use it, I just get to listen. :rolleyes:

Anise hyssop? I'm always looking for plants that the deer and bunnies won't chew down to nubbins... :D

And I got so excited about the fact that deer and bunnies don't like hyssop that I almost forgot to mention how envious I am of your green thumb. hazel's thumb is green...but it's from mold :frustrated:

[QUOTE=hazelrunpack;601446]hazel's thumb is green...but it's from mold :frustrated:[/QUOTE]

:laughing::laughing: Too funny Hazel.

Geezz Hazel, you sent me on a search now to find the one I have. :D There are a few different varieties. H. officinalis hyssop is the one I have. It has a slight skunky odor which some people don't like when you press the leaves between your fingers. I don't mind the smell at all. It can also be used in cooking but in very small amounts as it can be overpowering.

The list below is pretty comprehensive for deer resistant plants. Maybe it will help.


[url]http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/en/features/section3/deer_plants/deerplants.htm[/url]

Deer-Resistant* Plants
Achillea spp. yarrow - all kinds
Aconitum napellus common monkshood
Actaea rubra red baneberry
Agastache foeniculum giant hyssop
Alchemilla mollis lady's mantle
Alyssum maritimum alyssum
Anaphalis margaritacea
pearly everlasting
Antennaria dioica pussy toes
Antennaria pulcherimma showy pussy toes
Anthemis tinctoria golden marguerite
Antirrhinum majus snap dragons
Armeria maritima sea or common thrift
Artemisia absinthium "Lambrook Silver" wormwood
Artemisia schmidtrana silver mound
Artemisia stelleranna beach wormwood
Aruncus dioicus goatsbeard
Astilbe tacquetii superba astilbe
Calendula officinalis
calendula
Caltha palustris marsh marigold
Campunula rotundifolia harebells
Cerastium tomentosum snow-in-summer
Chrysanthemum coccineum pyrethrum
Chrysanthemum superbum shasta daisy
Corydalis lutea yellow corydalis
Dianthus caryophyllaccae deltoides pink family
Echinacea spp. coneflower
Erigeron philadelphicus Philadelphia fleabane
Eryngium planum sea holly
Euphorbia epithymoides cushion spurge
Euphorbia polychroma euphorbia
Fragaria virginiana wild strawberry
Gaillardia grandiflora blanketflower
Galium boreale northern bedstraw
Goniolimon tataricum Tatarian statice
Helichrysum spp. everlastings
Hemerocallis spp. daylily
Iridaceae spp. iris
Lavandula spp. lavender
Limonium sinuata statice
Lobelia tenuior, erinus lobelia
Lychnis coronaria rose campion
Lysimachia nummularia creeping jenny, moneywort
Matteuccia struthiopteris ostrich fern
Monarda didyma
bee balm
Narcissus spp. daffodils
Nasturtium nasturtium
Nepeta mussinii catmint
Oenothera spp. primrose
Paeonia spp. peony
Papaver nudicaule Icelandic poppy
Papaver orientale Oriental poppy
Papaver spp. all annual poppies
Perovskia atriplicifollia Russian sage
Petalostemon candidum white prairie clover
Petalostemon purpureum purple prairie clover
Portulaca grandiflora portulaca
Potentilla tridentate three-toothed cinquefoil
Primula spp. English primrose
Pulmonaria Mrs. Moon, Bethleham sage
Salvia patens salvia
Sedum spp. stonecrop
Senecio cineraria dusty miller
Stachys byzantians lamb's ear
Tagetes signata marigold gem series
Tanacetum vulgare var. crispum Tansy
Thalictium rochebrunianum meadowrue
Thermopsis rhombiflora golden-bean
Thymus serpyllum mother-of-thyme
Veronica spicata speedwell
Veronica virginicia culver's root

Deer-Resistant* Native and Ornamental Grasses
Agrostis scabra
hair grass
Andropogon gerardi big bluestem
Bouteloua gracilis blue grama grass
Festuca glauca blue fescue
Helictotrichon sempervirens blue oat grass
Hierochloe odorata sweet grass
Koeleria cristata
June grass
Molina caerulea variegata moor grass
Schizachyrium scoparium little bluestem
Sisyrinchium montanum common blue-eyed grass

Occasionally Nibbled Plants
Astilbe tacquetii superba astilbe
Aquilegia canadensis
common columbine
Caltha palustris marsh marigold
Daffodils daffodils
Dicentra spp. bleeding heart
Echinacea coneflower
Eryngium planum sea holly
Eupatorium purpureum joe Pye weed
Gaillardia grandiflora blanket flower
Liatris spicata gay feather
Linum perenne
perennial flax
Lychnis chalcedonia Maltese cross
Lychnis coronaria oculata rose blush
Monarda didyma bee balm
Osmorrhiza longistylis sweet cicely
Veronica spicata speedwell
Viola spp. violet

[QUOTE=hazelrunpack;601446]And I got so excited about the fact that deer and bunnies don't like hyssop that I almost forgot to mention how envious I am of your green thumb. hazel's thumb is green...but it's from mold :frustrated:[/QUOTE]

Sometimes mold is good for gardening. :D Makes good fertilizer! And thanks!

Wow, I never realized I'd have that many to choose from! :eek: Our deer seem to eat just about everything I've tried so far :D

Thanks for the list, 14+! I'll print it out and take it to the nursery next time I go (with luck, it'll be this weekend!)

Now if I could just find a fungicide for my thumb... :laugh:

Looking good 14+!!! I have deer around too but so far (this is my first year) they have not touched the garden. They did chow down all my cedars last fall though.

Thanks L4H! And you are welcome Hazel. I hope you can track down some plants this weekend!
It's crappy weather so no working in gardens today. Guess I have to work in greenhouses. :rolleyes:

Very nice! And is that a pond/waterfall there in the 2nd pic? Cute deer too!

Yes kr, it is. It is a very small pond which, I hope, by the end of the summer will be connected to another small pond and a big pond at the other end of the garden. It is my summer project. I made a "creek" running from the pond to where the bigger pond/waterfall will be last year too so that part is done. It is just digging a hole for the other pond and having hubby dig the big one so I can put the liner down, rocks, etc. It will be fun!! :rolleyes:

I can't wait to have a house so I can start these kinds of projects! Are you going to have fish? Like kois?

KR - No fish going in this year. I will let the pond "settle" for a year first. The lady I bought all my greenhouse supplies from is overrun with fishies in her pond. I will probably just get a few from her next year. They aren't koi but they are pretty. We have a blue heron that flies over all the time. I don't think I want to take a chance on expensive fishies going missing.

L4H - You said you had deer chow down on cedars last year? I guess that's because the winter was such a tough one. They need food from somewhere. It's so sad. :sad:

Hazel - That list I gave you is for Manitoba so it should be great for your area. Manitoba is Zone 3/4 according to one map I just looked at.

14+,your garden looks beautiful,I wish I had your space,but then again I would be working my butt of with a HUGE garden and a pond of course:laughing:
No deer here,really no planteating critters at all,but I would sacrifice some of my garden to see deer in my backyard(I think).
You are a very talented young lady:thumbs up

Thanks Chico! I know what you mean about working all the time in the garden. I need to get mine to the point I can just go out for an hour or so at night and weed. With the greenhouse getting busier (hopefully) I won't have the time.
As for big - by the time I am finished the gardens should be somewhere around an acre if all put together. Big enough? :rolleyes:

[QUOTE=14+kitties;602025]L4H - You said you had deer chow down on cedars last year? I guess that's because the winter was such a tough one. They need food from somewhere. It's so sad. :sad:

[COLOR="Purple"][I]Our local parks all have arbor vitae that are trimmed up to about 4 feet from the ground. We thought it was deer, too...then we got setters. In no time, puppy Cole and puppy Ember had our arbor vitae trimmed up to about 4 feet from the ground. Now we're trying to figure out how the parks developed such a heavy infestation of setters! :laugh:[/I][/COLOR]

Hazel - That list I gave you is for Manitoba so it should be great for your area. Manitoba is Zone 3/4 according to one map I just looked at.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="purple"][I]Even better! :highfive: I'm already making my plans for the nursery run. :D We have a large area of the front yard that we're letting grow wild. I want to add some flowers here and there...but of course, the deer have free access to the area. [B]All[/B] the deer...[B]frequently![/B] So I'm gonna need as much help as I can get. :o[/I][/COLOR]

[QUOTE=hazelrunpack;602077][COLOR="purple"][I]Even better! :highfive: I'm already making my plans for the nursery run. :D We have a large area of the front yard that we're letting grow wild. I want to add some flowers here and there...but of course, the deer have free access to the area. [B]All[/B] the deer...[B]frequently![/B] So I'm gonna need as much help as I can get. :o[/I][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Human pee will do the trick Hazel, no kidding.

[QUOTE=Chris21711;602084]Human pee will do the trick Hazel, no kidding.[/QUOTE]


We'd need enough to cover the outside perimeter of an acre and a third! :laughing: hubby better get moving! :laugh: