Useful Tips to Control Deer Damage

Useful tips to control deer damage and deer resistant plants. When deer are hungry and their food supply is gone,deer will eat anything. Plants known as being deer resistant is a good step in controlling deer damage in the yard.Deer will not find them as tasty and will eat off other perennial plants  and shrubs before attacking these
varieties.

White-tailed deer in Toronto, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In order to get the deer damage under control, it is a must to properly select deer resistant plants. Deer repellents are also a great thing to have and it should be used regularly to have best results. Area repellent emits foul odor that is good in keeping deer away, however it will also keep people away. It is also advisable to use contact repellents. There are so many contact repellents out in the market today that are also environmentally safe and biodegradable that can be used around pets and children. Properly choosing the right contact repellents which will adhere to plants structure, rain resistant and will last for a month is a must.

Greenwood Nursery is a family owned and operated wholesale and mail order nursery. It is one of the most dedicated companies in giving deer resistant plants and right tips in order to have the best garden and landscape unlike any other. One of their helpful tips to prevent deer in eating plants is to create deer fence.

Deer fencing is now available in all sizes, shapes and prices.  One of the most common types is the mesh type. This type of deer fence is more flexible and it can also be attached in nearby posts and trees. More often, 6 to 7 foot in height is frequently used for deer fencing. Tree shelters are also called as deer guards and they are proven effective in keeping deer away. Everyone can also take advantage of homemade deer repellent remedies.

There are so many steps that should be considered in controlling deer in the landscape or garden. The first step is properly selecting deer resistant plants that are appropriate in the garden and landscape. Greenwood Nursery ensures that everyone will have the best deer resistant plants that will suit in anyone’s garden.

Shade Garden Plants Add Color to Woodland Areas

Spring really brightens up wooded areas with lots of colors just bursting out a big “Hello!” I think that is what sparks us to want to add color to shaded areas. The artist part of us comes out wanting to splash color into our surroundings and the fun part is that it doesn’t stop with spring just as Claude Monet did at his garden in Giverny. He even planted hiswoodland areas with colorful plants. Monet's pond garden as well was carefully planned by Monet himself. Over one hundred years old and his gardens still look as beautiful today as we can imagine that they did when he first painted them.

Monet's Garden
Photographed by Cheryl D Jones

Here is a listing of plants from evergreen ground covers, to shade loving perennials, to spring flowering shrubs and spring flowering trees that will grow in shaded areas. Most will produce spring color while a few others will just add something special to the blend.

Strategically placing plants with color can give a whole new look to your woodlands or shaded areas. It's especially easy if you have a digital camera. You can take pictures of the areas you want to enhance with color or texture, print them out or just study them on the screen and you can visualize how you would like to see the woodlands as the seasons unfold.

Ground cover plants for shade:

Ajuga
Pachysandra
Vinca
Cotoneaster
(creeping) Moss

Shade loving perennials:

Ferns
Tiarella
Anemone
Aster
Astilbe
Dicentra
Helleborus
Heuchera
Hosta
Solomon's seal
Carex
Liriope

Flowering shrubs for shade:

Mountain laurels
Sambucus
Reblooming Azaleas
Rhododendrons
Bamboo
Carolina allspice
Red twig dogwood
Hydrangeas
Nandina
Holly

Flowering Trees for shade:

White flowering dogwood
Red bud
Serviceberry
Sourwood
Cedar
Hemlock
White pine
Sycamore
Green ash
Poplars

Don't try to do your entire project at one time. Working on it over several years allows you to see that you are on the right track for what you want as the outcome.

Visit Greenwood Nursery Mail Order Nursery for shade loving plants.

And don't forget about ways to move through your wooded area. Bark mulch walkways and stepping stones make great paths. Benches, whether wood, stone or metal, give excellent reasons to sit and enjoy from the inside out. Rocks of all sizes and even boulders look stately with moss growing over them and are right at home in wooded and shaded spaces.

I hope this has given you some ideas to build on to make your own woodland area as beautiful as a Monet painting.

By Cheryl D. Jones

Landscaping Around Decks, Patios and Porches

Once the weather warms and decks, patios and porches are back in use, queries begin coming in requesting assistance in landscaping these areas. So, I thought it would be a good idea to offer these suggestions to all of our readers.

The first task is to sit on your patio, porch or deck and actually look out (away from the exterior walls). What do you see? Do you see an open never ending lawn or, maybe it’s a small enclosed area? What could you see as a focal point in your view? How do you feel about your deck? Is it quiet and cozy or more of an open space where you would prefer more privacy?

The answers to these questions will dictate how you landscape around your outdoor living area.

Let’s discuss patios and low level decks and porches first. Your point of view from sitting in your chair should give you looking into (not onto) the lawn area. Basically, the lawn becomes an extension of that outdoor space. Low level sitting areas take more advantage of the opening. Colors and textures can be used effectively from the immediate areas on to the outlying regions. The view will be complete from the tree tops all the way down to groundcover. So, be sure to add in lots of colorful perennials and shrubs into the outlying landscape.

Now, in landscaping around the perimeter of your low level deck (patio or porch), you will want to select plants with that in mind. If your outside living space is large and extends out considerably from the house, consider placing ornamental trees or other decorative plants.
The following is a great listing of plants for this purpose.

• Japanese red maple
• Emerald green arborvitae
• Crape myrtle
• Kousa dogwood
• Kwanzan cherry
• Sourwood
• Red bud
• Sweetbay magnolia
• Clumping bamboo
• Nishiki willow

Remember to allow for stepping stones or other access to the outlying areas. In planting along the edges, select low growing plants so as to not block the outward view. Staying in the 3 ½ foot range and below should work quite well, especially with taller plants in that range that are airy at the tops such as ornamental grasses.
The following lists plants that make excellent borders.

• Coreopsis
• Astilbe
• Gaillardia
• Heucheras
• Dwarf Spiraea
• Hydrangeas (Cityline series)
• Hostas
• Nandina dwarf firepower
• Nandina dwarf harbor
• Saliva
• Russian sage little spire
• Weigela
• Liriope
• Grass, Acorus Ogon
• Grass, Sporobolus h. Prairie Dropseed
• Grass, pennisetum Karley Rose
• Grass, Pennisetum Hameln
• Verbena-low growing
• Rosemary
• Lavender
• Sage

The biggest tip on landscaping around high level decks and balconies is to remember that you will be looking down onto the plants immediately around the perimeter and only seeing portions of the plants in the outlying areas. High level areas truly take on a different view of the lawn than low level areas and should be landscaped accordingly. High level decks are considered to be (roughly) 5 and 6 feet and higher off the ground.

Plant for fragrance, long blooming periods, lots of texture and slightly away from the deck so you are fully able to enjoy the plants. I have a list of plants that can work nicely in such situations.

• White birch
• Dogwoods
• Serviceberry
• Magnolias
• Tulip poplar
• Lilacs
• Crape myrtles
• Oakleaf hydrangeas
• Red bud
• Flowering cherry
• Sourwood
• Rhododendrons
• Holly

I hope this information gives you some ideas to build on in landscaping around your patio, porch, high or low level deck. Buy plants online at Greenwood Nursery Mail Order Nursery.