A Rebroadcast: Not Tonight, Deer
What is the greatest threat to gardens, today? It isn’t drought, diseases or in my case floods, but deer. Ruth Clausen is one of the best-known names in garden writing, and a trusted source for the most in-depth and reliable information. Like me, she tells the truth. Her new book is not called 50 Beautiful Deer-Proof Plants, but 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants. Ruth knows that sooner or later, depending on pressure from starving deer, nearly any poisonous, thorny, silver-leafed or stinky herbaceous or evergreen ornamental might be sampled.
Ruth has rated her entries on a 1 to 10 scale (nothing is lower than 7). In other words, a plant with a 9-10 rating has a 90 to 100% chance of not being eaten. For example: Baptisia 8-10, Euphorbia 9-10, Dicentra 9-10, Hybrid sage 9-10, pachysandra 9-10, hellebores 9-10, Epimedium 9-10, peonies 7-10, Achillea 8-10and the big root geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Album’ 8-10, below).
Publishers love numbers, but as you read the book and note Ruth’s design recommendations for companions to plant with the 50 noted entries, you’ll find hundreds more selections for the garden – all of which are also resistant to browsing.
Take this book with you to the garden center, and be sure to consult the index for many more candidates. By the way, the book is fully illustrated with photographs by Alan Detrick of the featured plants and combinations.
Click on the small black arrow at the left on the bar below to start listening, or click on the MP3 link to download the show into Windows Media Player or iTunes:
ANd if you have a great nursery near you, recommend that they buy one so they can inform their customers!