deer Archives | Page 3 of 4 | Diana's Designs Austin

Ok, don’t laugh!

So, I had a brainstorm.

If you’ve been following my posts about my veggie garden, you know I have rampant Malabar spinach that is literally taking over my garden and threatens to consume my very house.

While Lori of The Gardener of Good and Evil and Robin, of Getting Grounded were here visiting last week and shaking their heads at how it’s taking over, we thought perhaps the deer would like to eat it — instead of my newly-planted Cuphea!

What a great idea~

So, last night my DH helped me haul an armload of long vines full of juicy green leaves out to the edge of our septic field and next to the water bowl I leave out for the deer. The picture above shows the path that leads into the woods and the septic field (the bright green grass on the hill in the distance).

And this morning, lo and behold, the vines are strewn about and the leaves have all been eaten off of it!

I know – feeding the deer is precarious, but better this than live plants! And, besides, it’s almost like they are in the garden beside me pulling the vines out to make room for more Fall garden veggies! (well, not quite!) It might take me a little longer giving them bunches at a time this way, but hey — this way, I literally am … “sharing nature’s garden.”

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:52-06:00September 29th, 2008|Blog, deer, malabar spinach, Sharing Nature's Garden|7 Comments

The latest in garden decor?

What do you think? Modern art? Sculpture de plastique? An obstacle course?

No, it’s my latest attempt to protect my plants.

Yes, that’s right. Little Miss Emmy (as I’ve named our resident yearling deer) has been munching on all my newly-planted plants. Remember the Cuphea I planted on Sunday? She ate about 1/3 of one Cuphea the first night. Then she nibbled on another one. And by the time I bought these milk crates and got them out there this afternoon, she’d sheared them all way down to the base. And she ate all the bloom buds off of the 3 mums, too. She did leave the Mexican Oregano alone, though.

Sigh.

I’m hoping that the only reason she ate the Cuphea was because it was young and tender and newly planted, and that she’ll leave them alone when they grow a little bit. After all, I thought the mums would be safe because I have two of them that have lived in the same spot in pots for a YEAR untouched. They are big ones, so, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping they grow big and woody and taste terrible!

See how little she left me?

While I was planting all the plants for the deer to eat for dinner on Sunday, I also dug up several volunteers and potted them. The first two, L to R, are probably not going to make it, but the last 3 are Crape Myrtles and should be a beautiful fuchsia color if they came from the seeds of the nearest tree. (Though I do have a row of white ones far away — just my luck — these will be white when I want them to be fuchsia!)

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:08-05:00September 23rd, 2008|Blog, cuphea, deer, milk crates, mums, Sharing Nature's Garden|14 Comments

Meet our Emmie!

This little beauty is Emmie, one of our resident deer. Yes, you’ve heard me blog furiously about plants pulled out and eaten to the nubs, but the severe drought has softened my heart.

We are seeing her from our breakfast room where she has come to nibble on a few seeds from the bird feeders and to get a drink of water from the birdbath that’s just right behind her. I’m also keeping a giant dog bowl of water out there for her and her sister Lulu.
After her nice drink, she headed back to the septic field behind the woods to have an afternoon snack of some well fertilized grass. She really likes the grass because it’s greener than many of her other food sources these days.

I’m thinking about feeding her deer corn. Just thinking. I’ll let you know how that turns out in my brain!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:53-06:00June 21st, 2008|Blog, deer, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

A picture…

Is worth a thousand words, but unfortunately, I don’t have one.

But I have to share this with you. Emmie (or Lulu, take your pick), one of the two yearling does that has been living behind our house, nibbling on the septic field, and RAVASHING my plants every once in a while, paid us an up close and personal visit tonight.

Kallie and I were eating dinner, watching the birds outside eat their dinner and commenting on the occasional hummer. When all of a sudden, Emmie stepped gingerly up to the bird bath, tipped her head and took a long, slow drink. She stood there for a good 10 minutes. We quit eating, quit moving, quit talking, because she was watching us inside the house. We avoided eye contact, even, because, as I told Kallie, she needs that drink and we don’t want to scare her off.

After she wandered off into the woods and even before I’d finished my dinner, I quietly went outside to fill 4 birdbaths to the brim and fill the big metal dog water bowl I’d placed in the woods for the animals. No more signs of her this evening.

This was so amazing, because it was hot, full, sunny daylight and she was so close to our world. It lets you know how much they are suffering.

Annie’s comment to my post last night put my heart back in the right place. If they need some juicy plants to eat, they can have mine for a while.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:54-06:00June 3rd, 2008|Blog, deer, Sharing Nature's Garden|7 Comments

The menu…

The menu was a salad of Hostas and Angel Wing begonias with a sprinkling of Spiderwort, Toad lilies, Winecup. Dessert was Delphinium with some Sunflower tops and, thank goodness, only one Rudbeckia bloom (they must not have been tasty).

Okay, so you’re thinking – WHY did she serve all of that?

Well, the deer USUALLY don’t bother things very often. One thing here and there gets eaten.

Well, even an old dog like me can learn, so, the salad bar is closed.

I’ll try to relocate the things I can move behind the fence, and hang the angel wing in a back yard tree.

I’m having bad garden karma these days … is there any cure for that? Some charm or potion or herb I can ingest to “right” myself?

It was 100 yesterday and is predicted to hit 99 today, so I may just tire myself out for a break anyway. Even more frustrating, since I’m hand watering for an hour every day right now!

On a BRIGHT note, I was delighted to find a new little sago palm frond growing up from an old seed that froze in the winter. Love those little garden surprises.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:13-05:00June 2nd, 2008|Blog, deer, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Sweet Surprise …

What a lovely surprise. The deer ate a few of the first native and cutting garden-type plants I put in what I’m calling my wild bed.

I was most saddened by the loss of the tops of my three delphinium plants. There’s just something about Delphinium and Larkspur that I find so beautiful and free-spirited (as if all flowers weren’t free spirited!).

So imagine my surprise this weekend when the Delphiniums were back — more blue and beautiful than before.

I didn’t capture the rich blue hue very well because I took the photo too late in the day, but I like it nonetheless.

And their neighbors, the mail-order Rudbeckia Prairie Sun with no brown are blooming and multiplying profusely. And they’ve been joined by Texas Betony blooming red and Mexican Oregano with it’s lavender blooms.

It’s so exciting to see something you’ve sweated and toiled over come to fruition. And while the Blackfoot daisies don’t seem to be happy there and several of the 5 transplanted Lantanas failed to come back, I’m calling it a huge success.

And Ms. Artemis is oh-so-happy to have the pretties for company!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:13-05:00May 27th, 2008|betony, Blog, deer, delphinium, rudbeckia, Sharing Nature's Garden, wild bed|12 Comments

deer

Ok, don’t laugh!

The latest in garden decor?

Meet our Emmie!

A picture…

The menu…

Sweet Surprise …

Escape in the garden