• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

June 25, 2012 · 5 Comments

An Easy Way to Protect Plants from Rabbits and Deer

How to

I toured more than a dozen gardens this weekend and saw lots of creative ideas, from antiques in the garden to exciting plant combinations. Two of my favorite ideas were ways to protect plants from marauding critters.

Upside down tomato cage to deter deer

Deer don’t like rubbing their noses in pointy tomato cages.

This contraption is a deer deterrent in a large rural garden near Hudson, Wis. No doubt deer are a constant problem in this area, but the home owner has out-smarted them with these home-crafted cages. The cages are made from regular tomato cages, turned upside down, with the pointy ends twisted outward.  Apparently, deer stub their noses on the cages when they come to browse the hostas and so they move on to less difficult territory.

Wire cover to keep rabbits off hostas

An antique water dish cover used for chickens protects hostas from rabbits.

These covers for hosta plants were intended to cover a chicken’s water dish, according to the South St. Paul gardener who found them at an estate sale. The chickens could get their beaks through to get water but could not fowl the water in anyway. The gardener uses them to keep rabbits from munching on her hostas.

Have you heard of other creative ideas for keeping critters at bay?

 

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: Deer Resistant Landscaping A Gardener’s Reading, 23 of 30 Like many northern gardeners,...
  2. Oh, Deer! While I’ve battled with a variety of four-legged marauders over...
  3. How to Reduce Deer Damage During a recent event, a local plant breeder went through...
« Photo Gallery: Artful Gardens in Hudson, Wis.
More Lessons from Garden Tours »

Comments

  1. commonweeder says

    June 26, 2012 at 8:59 am

    I have no good ideas, just complaints. We fenced in the vegetable garden so that it looks like Stalag 17, and it is safe from deer, but not rabbits. Where are the coyotes when you need them?

  2. Mary Schier says

    June 26, 2012 at 9:56 am

    We had terrible rabbit problems this year until our recent deluge of rain. I’m not sure if the bunnies drowned or moved on, but I have not seen any since then. Unfortunately, plenty of ground squirrels and moles still.

  3. Corrine says

    August 14, 2012 at 11:26 am

    I use all sorts of deterrents to keep the deer out of our driveway garden, the location with the most sunshine in our clearing in the woods. Nothing works for all season, but a variety of things seem to be working this year. Other than some nibbling late June we’ve been fortunate.

    Dog & human hair – let clump together in a bag tossed around a bit then put on top of raspberry trellis posts & looks like a wig. (grow Everbearing rasp, so they ripen late)

    Bloodmeal in pantyhose bags tied to supports.

    Eggs – any cracked from our chickens or doves goes out there mixed up a bit in a bucket with water or just tossed on the mulch for the aroma once rotten in the heat.

    Dog urine – I walk our little pomeranian around the perimeter & take him with me when working in the garden in hopes that his scent will deter them.

    Alliums planted near the perimeter – chives in the retaining concrete blocks plus garlic & onions in rows in front, between & behind the strawberries all along the driveway.

  4. Mary Schier says

    August 14, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Great suggestions! With deer, it seems you have to constantly change what you are doing to keep them at bay.

  5. Joe Felegi says

    January 6, 2015 at 4:23 pm

    Great ideas to keep critters away from your garden! This is also a fantastic way to avoid infestations because the critters will move on to better places to get food. Great work and insight, thank you!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

mynortherngarden_mary

Obsessed with this water drop. . . . #houseplants Obsessed with this water drop. 
.
.
.
#houseplants #boredgardener #echeveria #wateringplants #plantcare #mngardener #whenisspringcoming
In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Fl In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Florida right now, which would mean a visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on our first full day there. Always great art and gardens to see. Then some beach time and plans for our first preseason game. (Twins, Pirates, Orioles, it’s all great.) We were very lucky to get the trip in last year and hope to be in Sarasota again this time next year. Meanwhile I’m indulging in some Insta-nostalgia and feeling grateful for longer days and sunshine here in Minnesota. Which vacations are you remembering fondly these days? 
.
.
.
#gardentravel #florida #sarasota #publicgardens #marieselbybotanicalgardens #tbt #mngardener #longwinter
New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea— New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea—great way to pass a gloomy late afternoon. This issue is full of ideas for spring from @jenniferrensenbrink @monarchgardensbenjaminvogt @gbrownhudson @seedtofork and more. Stunning cover image from @riedelphoto.  Available March 1 on newsstands or subscribe through @mnhort! 
.
.
.
#northerngardener #mngardening #coldclimategardening #calibrachoa #gardenforfrogs #perennialgarden #gardentips #nativeplants #nativeplantgardening #growyourownfood #iceberglettuce #growasalad
Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s guest on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast is Michelle Mero Riedel, who introduced me and readers of Northern Gardener to the concept more than a decade ago. It’s been one of  our most popular articles ever. 

In winter sowing, you create mini-greenhouses out of milk jugs and other recyclables. Perennial flowers 💐 can be planted in February and March, while annuals, vegetables and herbs can be set out in April. Mother Nature does most of the work. It’s a budget friendly way to grow lots of plants! 

For more info, check out the podcast or a new blog post over on mynortherngarden.com. Links to all in bio. 
.
.
.
#seedstarting #seeds #wintersowing #wintersown #gardeninspiration #howtogarden #garden #mygarden #growyourown #mynortherngarden #gardeninfo #mnpodcast #gardenpodcast 
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below z What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below zero? Time to ramble back to June when the penstemon was covered in bees and the veronica looked so pretty. June is my second favorite month in the garden (believe it or not, September is number one for me). What’s your favorite month? P.S. only 14 weeks until June! 
.
.
.
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was digging through some old family photos and came across this one of me circa 1990s, I’d guess, weeding at our first house. I had a lot to learn (like A LOT) about gardening, and little did I know then that I’d be writing about gardening for a living someday. Lots of good thing happen in the garden. 
.
.
.
#tbt #mygardenstory #mynortherngarden #gardenwriter #weeding #oldphoto #buckethatsareback
Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawit Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawithoutherspoon 
.
.
.
#flowers #bouquet #flowersmakemehappy #plantsmakepeoplehappy
The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all ab The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all about plants with medicinal uses.  I interview author and herbalist Matthew Alfs about his new book on Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Midwest. We talked about a few of my favorite plants such as wild geraniums and anise hyssop and also about what we call weeds that have other uses. 

It was a fascinating discussion with a real expert. Matthew recommends consulting multiple sources before using any plant medicinally and his book would be a good one to start with. 

Listen to the podcast at growitminnesota.com or wherever you get your podcasts. 
.
.
.
#gardenpodcast #anisehyssop #geranium #geraniummaculatum #dandelion #herbalist #plantsareamazing #minnesota #mnhspress #mnplants #mnpodcast
I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plan I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plants in the temptation spot near the 10-items or less lane. They’re better for you than chips and just as enticing. I resisted this time but plant impulse buys happen to all of us! 
.
.
.
#houseplants #babyplants #succulents #impulsebuy #mystpaul #stpaul #mngardener #minnesota #wintergardening #indoorgardening #toocute
Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to look at, but helps pollinators and birds more. As the sun gets stronger in late January, these are a few of my favorites for winter interest. 
.
.
.
#winterinterest #mnwinter #boltonia #anisehyssop #littlebluestem #birdfriendly #pollinatorgarden
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In these pandemic times, I’ve been having fun making quilts. Small, easy, no stress quilts. And, these garden themed fabrics on discount through Etsy were irresistible. 

I’m a beginner quilter and learned the craft through YouTube! (My favorite tutorials are the scrap buster quilts from @justgetitdonequilts) This fabric bundle included 21 different half yard prints, so I’ll probably have fabric left over for next winter too. 

How are you keeping sane/busy this winter? 
.
.
.
#gardenlife #gardenfabric #modafabric #offseason #beginnerquilter #winter #minnesotawinter #minnesota
Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra large! What I really like about this one (it’s called Magic Green) is that the blooms are just right. Showy but not excessive. So far, the color is more cream than green though there is a pale green undertone. Beautiful variety! 

And, for those who may notice those tell-tale yellow strips in the pots—yes, I am having an ongoing fungus gnat issue. Not out of control, but definitely irritating. 

How’s your indoor garden 🪴 growing? 
.
.
.
#amaryllis #amaryllisflower #magicgreenamaryllis #indoorplants #bulbs #wintergarden #indoorgarden #houseplants #topview #mngarden #mngardening #bloomingbulbs
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables
  • Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways
  • What to Do with Not-Quite-Ripe Winter Squash? Recipes Included
  • Frost Dates in the Vegetable Garden
  • How to Use the Winter Sowing Method to Start Seeds Outdoors
  • How to Build a Vegetable Garden Box for Your Deck
  • An Easy Way to Protect Plants from Rabbits and Deer
  • Taking the Straw Bales' Temperature

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2021 · captivating theme by Restored 316