When I saw how beautifully the hardy geranium in my corporate guerrilla garden did this summer I could not help but to want the same thing for the more than dozen I planted in my Monet Garden at home that have not been able to reach such fantastical heights of blooming.
Instead they bloomed just barely enough to justify staying in this semi-shaded location while they wait to be ravaged by the deer.
So I moved them further into the yard, along the edge of the Sun Garden, where for the last two years I have used Nasturtium to create a low-growing border along the driveway. Yes, the deer still wander into the yard that far to snack, but at least the geraniums will get more sun and will not be as completely exposed.
One more addition of purple into the Sun Garden as I embrace the shift away from my strictly colour-coded gardens.
In place of the Hardy Geranium I will transplant a portion of the Lamium that has been doing so incredibly well. It will cover the narrow strip alongside the sidewalk, but stop where the garden widens alongside the driveway since I have already established a carpet of Forget-Me-Nots there.
Major transplants tend to create a domino effect in the garden; filling the hole cleft by the Lamium are the Foxglove from alongside our home, which have had to be transplanted due to our basement construction.
Here the domino effect ends because the space the Foxglove came from will not be ready to plant again until spring, but when the ground thaws and I am able to start the post-construction recreation of my gardens, this never-ending cycle of transplanting will begin anew.
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Sharing with Outdoor Wednesday & Wildflower Wednesday
Sharing with Outdoor Wednesday & Wildflower Wednesday
I'm not sure but perhaps plant some marigolds around the garden. They are colorful and keep the bugs away. Perhaps they keep deer away.
ReplyDeleteJM, Illinois
Thanks for the idea JM. On a go-forward basis I have started planting only plants deer are not drawn to, and I hope to keep these geranium regardless of the deer's appetites, so it will be interesting to see how they fare next year.
DeleteOh those devils...it is funny how deer in different areas have their preferences. I love native geraniums and planted many last year. I hope to see them grow in more this year. And I love the names of your gardens!
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that they travel down the driveway less than they walk across the front lawn. it seems logical to me, but then again, I am not a deer...
DeleteLupines and Baptisia should be reasonably deer resistant as well as somewhat shade tolerant. Otherwise I have had success in a garden that regularly had deer roaming through it with camouflaging desirable shrubs and perennials by using annuals that are deer resistant around the perimeters. Things like salvias and phlox might work...good luck :-), Matt
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice Matt. I had Lupines in front, but I think it is to shady there so I moved them to the back this fall. I will keep annuals in mind since normally I am so focused on perennials, there could be some good plants in there I have been ignoring.
ReplyDelete