Deer Resistant

Really, it’s enough to give even the most soft-hearted gardener an appetite for venison. There’s something extraordinarily infuriating about finding bare, torn, stubby stalks in our own little fiefdoms. Those gardeners who live amongst bold, perpetually ravenous deer and want to enjoy exposed plantings learn to respect their adversaries. But that doesn’t mean that we gardeners are defenceless. In fact, it is entirely possible to place a lushly planted container outside the safety of a fenced garden, where it provides a welcoming sight beside a front door, an accent for an otherwise bleak spot, a cluster in the corner of a deck or, perhaps, a strategic screen for something unattractive. The secret to taking this bold step? Selecting “deer-resistant” plants that are unpalatable to even the hungriest cloven-hoofed marauder. After all, it would be a shame to forego an opportunity for a beautifully planted container. Given their limitless variety of shape and substance – from whiskey half-barrels to retired bathtubs to gumboots, and everything in between – and the broad selection of plants that will thrive with their roots confined, containers inspire creativity. Avid gardeners cannot help but see any object with sides and a bottom in terms of its planting potential. Containers need to be planted.