The problem of plant loss due to browsing deer can be distressing.
Inside the Pollinator Garden in late June, red Bee Balm, purple Verbena and orange Helianthus are blooming
In our experience at the Carson House, we’ve found that protecting plants for the benefit of pollinators, birds and the people who enjoy them can require a backpack of strategies. Here are some four ways that we have found to successfully grow plants while allowing deer overall access to the Carson House grounds.
1) Grow Deer-Resistant Plants: Some of the plants listed in references below will be browsed by deer when the plants are young and growing but become resistant as they mature. So it can be a good idea to protect new, young plants (even if they are reported to be deer-resistant) from browsers by encircling them with a wire cage, securely fastened in place by stakes. Lists of deer-resistant plants can be found in various sources*. We have found that the following plants flourish without any protection from deer being provided by us: Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia), appear in spring and then disappear; Hellebores, are present all year round, bloom in late winter; Mountain Mint, blooms in mid-summer; False Indigo, blooms in spring; Bugle Weed, blooms in spring; Snow Drops, bloom in early spring; Pieris/Andromeda, a shrub that blooms in spring; and a variety of ferns.
*(Such as Deer-Proofing Your Yard and Garden by Rhonda Massingham Hart, 1997 and Deer-Resistant Landscaping; Proven Advice and Strategies for Outwitting Deer and 20 Other Pesky Animals by Neil Soderstrom, 2008)
2) Protect Vulnerable Shrubs with a Deer Repellent: We have found success with a product called Deer No No, a repellent in a small green net bag for hanging on shrub branches and elsewhere. It has worked for us in protecting azaleas from browsing by deer.
3) Fence-In Small Groups of Vulnerable Plants: For example, we have a cluster of Zig Zag Goldenrod, Sedum, and Butterfly Weed (Milkweed) that has been enclosed by a four foot high circular fence. Deer No No can be placed along the top of the caging fence.
A view across the Pollinator Garden in late June looking toward the Carson House from Berwick Road
4) Fence-In a 20’ X 50’ Garden Area; A mostly 4 foot high, inconspicuous fence has worked to exclude deer, we believe, in part because the garden is structured so that deer do not want to jump the 4 foot high fence. Tall plants growing next to the fence especially at both ends can obstruct the visualization by deer so that they don’t have a clear sight line to the interior from outside of the fence. To exclude rabbits, poultry fencing can be added. Deer No No, the repellent packed in net bags can be tied along the top of the garden fence at regular intervals.
Many references on deer-proof fencing advise making it 8 feet high to prevent jumping in by the deer. That is probably a good approach if the area to be fenced is large with an open space inside that deer can see clearly from outside the fence. Our Pollinator Garden has tall plants around the perimeter, lower growing plants in the middle space. There is a wood chip covered path for visitors to follow. The Garden’s shape is oval and relatively narrow. The perimeter fence is about 4 feet tall with a 6-foot-tall gate at one end which is kept closed when no one is in the Garden. Dimensions of the Pollinator Garden are: Length 50 feet, and Width 20-22 feet.
Neil Soderstrom wrote in Deer-Proof Landscaping: “We live in deer, rabbit, and woodchuck country. Yet the 4-foot metal-mesh fence around our 20 x 60 foot vegetable garden has protected it on all but two occasions in more than 20 years.”
Fencing Used at the Carson House Property – Details:
The large garden fence and smaller plant cages are made of wire mesh fencing with 2” x 3” mesh, coated with green vinyl, 4 feet wide, sold in 50 foot rolls at Home Depot and elsewhere. It is supported by steel fence posts (U-posts) 5 feet long, also from Home Depot, driven 1 foot into the ground, spaced approximately 6 feet. A gate was made using the same materials, between two posts, hinged by bent wires on one side and stiffened on the movable side with a 5-foot piece of ½” iron rebar. It is held closed by a wire loop over the top of the rebar.
To exclude rabbits, 2-foot wide poultry wire with the same green coating was added around the bottom of the fence with the bottom 4” bent outward to lie flat on the ground.
“Cages” for individual plants are made of the same fencing as used for the Garden in 12-foot to 15-foot lengths, formed into circles and secured with the cut ends of the wires. They are fastened to the ground so they’re hard to push over by 4 stakes, 15” – 18” long, driven diagonally through the bottom mesh.
Diana Post, President, and Cliff Hall, Secretary/Treasurer
Rachel Carson Landmark Alliance (301-593-4900)
June 26, 2020
