The gardener's eye

The Gardener's Eye

Thursday, January 23, 2014

A Clear and Present Danger




About ten years ago, when the yew hedge was about two feet high, a small herd of deer came through and munched the hedge in half. I never saw any deer in New Hampshire for my first decade here but I knew about the toll they could take on the garden from my gardening friends in PA and CT. If you want to keep the deer out, they all said, you need to install a deer fence. I also read that they don't like to be trapped in small spaces. So I installed a deer fence around the perimeter of my property except the side of the garden along the street where there is a picket fence. Then, this winter, I noticed these tracks in the Hall with Balls just inside the picket fence doorway.



That very day, I installed deer fence on the final entry portal to the garden in the Hall with Balls. I didn't want a single deer's tentative investigation to turn into a full blown smorgasbord at the Gordon Garden!!


8 comments:

  1. I understand that deer can be quite a problem in the mountains not far from where I live and the fences do help to keep the deer out of the gardens. I hope you have success with your fence.
    Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Deer eating all the understory in the forest my be America's biggest threat to biodiversity.

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  2. Beautiful garden! I don't know if your garden is in a rural area or in town, but we have an energetic small dog (Jack Russel/rat terrier) who has a heated dog house on our porch but otherwise runs free on our 5 acres and we've never had any trouble with deer, except on the very edges of our property.
    -Beth
    gardenfancy.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a friend who had a Jack Russel and I think it was quite effective deterring the deer. The problem is when you take the dog on vacation with you. Finally after 15+ years the dog died and the deer have entered the garden.

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  3. Maybe the hybrid Coywolf will migrate south from Canada and dent the deer population.

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  4. I am all for that, Les.... I think?
    You must have to deal with deer where you are.

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  5. Fences are the only things that really keep the deer out. I broke down and put some in last year, and only wish I'd done it sooner.

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