My new gallery

[Marty]

Those are cute Cleo! My Dad loved to do stained glass also.

[Cleo]

Thanks everyone. I'm nowhere near the level of talent I've seen other glass artists at but hey, even if it doesn't get the bills paid, it keeps me happy and I guess that's all that matters.

[Traci]

Cleo's chickadees might be the only thing that survive in my garden. Darn deer overnight ate a hosta clear to the ground, chewed the two only blooms off my astilbe, and chopped off the top of one of my weigelas. Guess it's time for the critter urine.

Tambrey/other gardeners, do you think the hosta can come back? (roots weren't exposed or anything, just chewed off to about two inches above ground)

[Marty]

Yes, the hosta will come back. They die down in the winter anyway, and come back in the spring.

BTW, I got an email from Jackson and Perkins about deer resistant plants and thought of you. Don't know if it will help now, but here is a link.

http://www.jacksonandperkins.com/garden ... sistantSun

[Traci]

Thank you Marty, that makes me feel better!. I had seen that site before, and unfortunately, too many of the deer-resistant plants are toxic to cats. I specifically chose what I have for non-toxicity, the options are quite limited. I do have one echinacea though, maybe I should have gotten more for the area the deer seem to come in at. I was considering planting irises, maybe I could go ahead and do that in that specific area although the deer can simply step over them (or trample them!) and move on to my other plants. Sigh.

I wish I would have taken the deer into account before I did this. It's not their fault, it's urbanization!

[Marty]

I just did some googling, and people refer to hosta as "deer candy." Sorry bout that...

[Traci]

Well that's just hilarious, because I never heard that! Well, what's done is done, I think the hostas make a great addition to the garden and will try to keep them safe and alive. The deer haven't made it to the other end (yet), probably because they already got their treats!

[Marty]

I love them too, because they are perennials and come back bigger and better each year. Then you can split them and get more of them. The flowers aren't much to look at, but the foliage is very attractive.

One person said the foliage tastes like sweet spinach, and humans could eat it. Well, thanks, but no. Maybe you could find a bad tasting flower to plant among them to discourage the deer.

[Traci]

Yuck, I don't think I'd ever attempt to eat one (although I like spinach I can't imagine a sweet spinach, yuck!)

I heard deer don't like peppermint, but what would I do, hang candy on the plants like christmas trees? LOL.

[Marty]

You can buy mint...just a warning that they are invasive...