Two baby deer
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Oh, Deer

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Sometimes it seems as if this little northwest section of Baltimore is not part of a city but the countryside. Look out the window and you will see a multitude of wildlife. It’s like living in a Disney movie! The squirrels are scrounging, foxes are frolicking, chipmunks are chattering, crows are cawing, bullfrogs are bellowing, fireflies are flittering and deer are destroying. Oh, deer, please go away.

A Gardener I am Not 

I get the itch to get my hands into the ground around April. It has to do, probably, with the moist earth waking up from winter. The earth comes alive, with plants and trees growing and turning green. The smell of the soil is intoxicating and calls to me, “Dig. Weed. Plant. It’s time to get in touch with nature!”

The urge to find my gardening gloves, digger and other garden implements takes over. Sadly, though, I’m not much of a gardener. Weeding comes more naturally to me than planting. Plus, there’s a feeling of satisfaction when pulling unwanted stuff out of the ground. “Take that, you darn weeds!” It’s certainly cheaper than therapy, a great way to get rid of angst, and as an added benefit, counts as exercise.

What to Plant

A now-deceased neighbor spent hours digging, pruning and planting. His yard was magnificent, like something out of a magazine. And he gladly shared his knowledge and sometimes cuttings with the neighbors.

He was an inspiration to many of us. Despite his encouragement and advice, I don’t have his green thumb. For years, my gardening has consisted of a quick visit to Home Depot or a nursery to buy a few annuals that will bloom all summer. I don’t bother with fertilizers.

My first attempts at gardening consisted of planting impatiens under the kitchen window. Then one spring day, while shopping in the nearby (soon to be gone) Rite Aid, plastic planters were on sale. How cool would they look in front of the house? I bought them, purchased bags of fresh potting soil, found pebbles for drainage and when the weather warmed up, planted more impatiens. For years, neighbors commented on how pretty they looked in the planters.

Then, one morning, while retrieving the paper, I was horrified. The flowers were gone! The stems remained; only the actual flowers were missing. I was very angry and blamed it on some neighborhood kids, who were a bit “wild and unsupervised,” in my opinion.

Yes, the flowers eventually grew back, but there were many mornings when, once again, they were gone! What was going on? What could I do? I had no proof the kids were responsible.

This went on for a few years. Then, I switched to petunias. They grew nicely and were colorful. An added benefit was that they reseeded themselves, and many rebloomed the following spring. Before long, though, just as with the impatiens, the blossoms were gone!

Oh, Dear

A light bulb went off. Kids weren’t plucking the flowers; deer were eating them! Once I realized this, I saw deer everywhere! They were in our yard, the neighbors’ yards, across the street and blocks away. Everyone was complaining about the deer. They were all over the place, walking around as if they owned the neighborhood! They would cross the street without a care in the world. And boy, were they hungry!

Now, my challenge was to find easy-to-grow flowers and plants the deer didn’t like. Marigolds are one such flower. For a couple of years, I planted petunias and marigolds together. This worked; the deer seemed to stay away. It was getting tiring worrying whether the flowers would be there in the morning, so I switched to all marigolds.

My planters were starting to show their age, sustaining nicks and cuts by the lawn mower. I purchased new ones this year. And I bought some sad looking, small, straggly but inexpensive marigolds at Home Depot. Surprisingly, they filled out and are looking good. It’s not my gardening skills that have them thriving; it’s the fresh, fertilized potting soil in the planters and Baltimore’s rainy April and May.

Back to the deer. In the summer of 2020, I suggested we hire someone to take out the 1950s shrubbery we inherited when buying our house in 1978. It was time for a new look. This meant, of course, buying deer-resistant plants. We did some research and found a few that would work in our yard.

Hostas that were eaten by deer.

Luckily, for the most part, the new shrubs have thrived. But the space needed something more, something to beautify it, to give it a “wow” factor. What’s better than hostas? They are perennials, grow in sun or shade and don’t demand much attention. I purchased a few, and despite my brown thumb, they grew and were lovely. However, before purchasing them, I didn’t read “the fine print.” Deer love hostas!

The battle for the hostas is on, and the deer are winning. I’ve purchased deer repellent, Bobbex, which always washes off after rain, though the label says it won’t. Late last August, I gave up and let the deer finish off my beautiful plants. This spring, though, I was determined to show those deer a thing or two.

Well, I’m ready to wave the white flag. I spray and the deer stay away for a few days. The hostas revive and look spectacular only to be eaten overnight once again. My friend Holli suggested using flakes of Irish Spring soap as a deterrent. The deer evidently don’t like the smell. Amazon should be delivering the soap any day now. Deer also don’t like mint, and some grows in our backyard. I was able to root some cuttings but am hesitant to plant them. Mint grows like a weed and will take over a yard. Do I want to risk that to save the hostas?

Meanwhile, two fawns have taken up residence in our backyard. One is bigger than the other, so we think they are cousins, not twins. A mama deer strolls by every now and then. During the day they nibble away in the back yard, venturing up front for the “goodies” I suspect when we’re asleep.

Maybe it’s time to give up and say, ala Arnold Schwarzenegger, “HOSTA LA VISTABABY!”

Please leave your comments below.

Read more by Eileen Creeger.

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