If the Deer Don't Eat it and It Wants to Grow There, Then I Go With It

Garden by the big rocks

That's my gardening philosophy. Where I live it is extremely difficult to have gardens, or even shrubs for that matter because of the deer overpopulation. They eat nearly everything. In fact, if we don't fence off or cover our shrubs in the winter, we will not have shrubs in the spring. (Eh, not that that ever happened to us...) Trying to have gardens during the summer are a big challenge. Wouldn't you know the deer have even walked up right against my house to eat the roses off my rose bush?? Jerks!!

They do sell plants and flowers marked as "Deer Resistant". The deer laugh at this. So basically, it's trial and error. I have found some things that the deer don't seem interested in. They don't eat my purple irises. So I have tons of those. They don't eat marigolds, but I don't like them that much because they're annuals. I don't actually like gardening much, so I like plants that I only have to plant once. I've even resorted to going around my property and digging up native plants and planting them in my garden in hopes they would survive. (And hey, at least they're free, so I don't get AS mad if they are eaten.) We actually have some really nice wildflowers. My favorite doesn't really come into it's glory until late summer, but we have these really tall purple thistles. You can't pick them though. They have some gigantor thorns you wouldn't believe.

So yesterday I was working around this garden that we have surrounding these cool boulders near the end of our driveway. I trimmed off the dead iris stems. I also replanted some Wild Geranium that my Garden Wizard Aunt was so kind as to give me, since the deer didn't eat it where I have it up by the house, maybe they won't eat it down by the rocks. Pulled out some grass and weeds and generally inspected what was growing this year. I have a few mystery plants. That's always fun! The first one is growing where I had planted coreopsis last year. Which is a perennial. Except not mine. Now there's something growing there and I have no idea what it is, but it hasn't been eaten, so I'll leave it and see what happens. (Please, if anyone has any guesses for me, please share! It's the smaller plant in front.)

Mystery Plant #1

This is mystery plant/weed #2. I pulled quite a few of these out where the irises are, but I left some growing in the back. I honestly have no idea what it is. Some that I pulled out were quite tall.

Side view of Mystery Plant #2

I've heard there's a shortage of honeybees, but not in my yard. I had to be careful while I was weeding, they were all over these purple flowers that I've had for years that the deer don't eat, but I've long forgotten what they're called.


As if gardening at my house is not challenging enough, there's a minor problem when it comes to watering the garden by the big rocks. Hose doesn't reach. So I had to come up with my own means of getting water down there.

Hey, it works!

Sometimes I have to make a couple of trips, or sometimes I use TWO kitty litter containers filled with water. (I took a pic of it by my truck because I love my truck, btw, in case you forgot.) So I'll cart some more water down on my way to meeting DD at the bus stop this afternoon and hope the Wild Geraniums take okay.

And don't get eaten.