Remember when you were a kid, eavesdropping on a party your parents gave, hoping to find out what cool and secret things adults talked about when alone together, but it turned out the talk was all about mortgages, retirement funds, and taxes? You rolled your eyes, snuck off with some cheese cubes, and resolved never to turn out that way? And only yesterday you were talking with a coworker about investing some money into your IRA before the April 15th deadline?
Well, that has happened to me vis a vis wildlife damage in the garden. I always kind of rolled my eyes when people complained about deer damage or otherwise tried to deter hungry wildlife, which is a battle you can't win. Just give up and go with the flow, I thought. Heck, I have lived next to a park and nature area for nearly six years. My house had lawn up to all four sides when I bought it and now it's very garden-y (I've been meaning to post before and after photos, and I'm still meaning to!). I've spent a lot of time, money, and mostly sweat equity creating a tranquil garden space. I feed birds. And squirrels. And ducks, chipmunks, and groundhogs, who eat the fallen seed, on a daily basis. Of course there are all sorts of butterflies and beneficial insects around, too. In the spring, American toads have sung in chorus in the area right behind my property, and I often see a rabbit. On very rare occasions, I've seen deer, an opossum, and a painted turtle. I used to see garter snakes the first year I lived here, but not since. In other words, the joy of seeing wildlife always made up for the few lost or damaged plants. Yes, I'd always had a very Zen attitude about it all, feeling quite in balance with the whole cycle.
Two years ago, the groundhog(s) began breaking the balance. As reported earlier, s/he ate ALL of my zinnia and all of my morning glories. This year, s/he nibbled almost all of my tulips. (I know it was the groundhog because the trail of top-shorn foliage leads to a hole s/he started under my front porch. Though I concede the crocus may have been a rabbit's handiwork.) When one is oh-so-ready for spring, one likes to see bright flower bulbs. One does not like to see nibbled leaves and carcass stalks strewn about. (Although it does explain why I always feel I plant a ton more bulbs than ever bloom or come back the next year. If the foliage is nibbled off, the energy can't go back into the bulbs!)
So, yes, I was annoyed yesterday, on a warm sunny day as I was inspecting my garden for spring growth. But I was talking myself back into Zen, admittedly slowly and painstakingly, when I came upon a nibbled up Heuchera. Straw, camel's back, anyone? That was just not on! Nobody messes with my coral bells! Tansy? OK, it needs to be cut back anyway! Geranium? Fine! I only have it because I got it in a plant swap and I'm not fussy! Ornamental grasses, Centaurea, daises, lavender, salvia, thyme, great! I have a lot of those! If you're really hungry, I understand. Lettuce and other veggies? Fine! I can always buy more at the store and I know you can't. And I was even willing to look the other way over the nibbled hollyhock leaf, even though that's one of my favorite plants and its tough fuzzy leaves can't possibly taste very good!
"But no one touches my freakin' coral bells and gets away with it!," I yelled out ineffectually to no one in particular with my fist clenched and waving in the air. They're cute! I actually like all the new cultivars! And I got this one in Cleveland last May at a garden writers meeting! It's special! They're all special! And they're all mine, not yours! Frankly, I couldn't have had a better tantrum, complete with full emotional appeal, if I were a toddler in a grocery store!
I don't think the groundhog heard me.
Detroit Free Press writer Marty Hair had a timely column on how to protect tender bulb foliage. I have tried the sprays around the lattice at the bottom of my porch and it worked for a day or two. I also put down chicken wire and the branches of pruned barberry (prickly!). It didn't work much. Now I've tied old CDs, which I've read frighten birds, but I suspect the groundhog will simply admire its reflection before getting on with lunch. Admittedly, I hadn't tried the pepper spray directly on the tulips, but I will.
And my cats are no help whatsoever. Hell, they both sit calmly on the deck within two feet of a squirrel, all three looking like they're having a tea party. Now don't get me wrong. I don't really want my cats to harm another living creature, but I think they should at least try to frighten the groundhog off by getting all poofy, hissing, and otherwise posturing! But, no. That would ruin their sun bathing!
Man, I miss my Zen. Until it's restored, does anyone have any proven, non-toxic solutions for scaring off groundhogs?
On a more positive note, I did find the cute, cute foliage of baby Sedum hding under last year's stalks (yes, I really need to clean up the garden):
And a brave squirrel with a cute pale underside conceded to pose, close-up, for me, while eating nothing but sunflower seeds. Awwww!
Squirrly says "Happy birthday, Peter!"
I kind of think the same way you do or did. I always liked having squirrels in my yard. I am not feeding them any extra food. It is very frustrating though when they go after my bulbs. Just the other week I noticed one digging to get to something I just planted, getting so excited about it that it did some somersaults in the air. I still like to be able to enjoy wildlife as well. It's just hard to find the balance you described:)
ReplyDeleteBek, I'm also noticing I'm speciesist--more tolerant of some animals than others. For example, I adore squirrels. Yes, they do dig in my lawn but I don't care about lawn and I enjoy the squirrels' antics (have never seen somsersaults!)! I find I'm not wild about the hordes of ducks (somehow sinister to me, I have no idea why) or Arch Gardening Enemy #3, the groundhog. (Numbers #1 and #2, respectively, are buckthorn (Rhamnus spp.) and mosquitos.)
ReplyDeleteEasy! Move to Scotland - we don't have groundhogs!
ReplyDelete(Too drastic??)
I love Great Britain, so no probs. have you got your spare room ready for me, then? :)
ReplyDelete- Monica
hello, dropped by via Bek's. Your pictures are great and I understand your anguish over the lost flowers. I pray you'll find your ZEN again and the groundhog of course who is doing the damage. I am sorry I don't have a proven remedy for you. Greetings from Germany, Andrea
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain! We don't have groundhogs, but the squirrels dig up almost everything I plant (sometimes they even 'replant' stuff elsewhere, though not usually crown up.) What the squirrels don't dig, the rabbits eat. And of course the slugs. . . they eat what's left after the squirrels and the rabbits! BUT. . . so far. . . nobody has messed with my coral bells. I don't know why - maybe it's because we have no groundhogs!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting me! The pulmonaria is new in my garden. I love it and I am sure it won't be the last one. Have a nice week. Andrea
ReplyDeleteThere's an award for you at my blog today. Since I'm giving the award, I get to make the rules, (I don't like rules anyway,) and there are no strings attached. The award is yours whether or not you choose to pass it along.
ReplyDeleteThere's an award for you at my blog today. Since I'm giving the award, I get to make the rules, (I don't like rules anyway,) and there are no strings attached. The award is yours whether or not you choose to pass it along.
ReplyDeleteGarden Girl, Ooh, an award for me? Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I thought it might be something along the lines of Commenting Too Often in My Blog Award, but it's actually A blog excellence award. Thanks! I will pass it along in a future post. Cheers!
ReplyDeletehi! i just happened upon your blog when i googled 'flowers native to columbus ohio' for a friend who's just moved there & wants to start gardening for the 1st time! (google on my cell phone always comes up with some interesting stuff!)
ReplyDeletei know how you feel though besides the squirrels eating some of my bulbs & digging around in all of my pots, the bane of my existence are the management's landscapers! (hubby & i are the resident managers of a small apartment complex over here in coastal nj!) they are the most careless, spiteful, destructive little... landscapers i've ever encountered in my entire life! i started container gardening last year to try & minimize their wrath! (we've talked to management, we've talked to the landscaper's owners, it does no good!)
ok, sorry! (man do they get my blood boilin'!!!) anyway, always happy to find a fellow gardener!
gardeningJo, not surprised about the hit for me on "Columbus" -- I have blogged about several places in Columbus and enjoy visiting there. (Even though I'm in "enemy terriotry" of Ann Abor, MI.) Where in NJ are you? My sister lives near Millville and I enjoyed visiting Cape May with her, years ago!
ReplyDelete~ Monica
I am a veteran of the groundhog wars. I got so disgusted with the things I resorted to trapping. That worked with the 1st groundhog, but the next year, the new groundhog was too wily to get caught. I think it was the combination of a run in with my Borzoi and the spray repellents that finally forced the groundhog to move to greener pastures.
ReplyDeleteFor ornamental plants, the best repellents are the stinky ones. I've used Liquid Fence, Deer Off & am now trying Bobbix-R, which is specially formulated for rabbits, groundhogs, squirrels, chipmunks & voles. Good luck - I've pretty much given up on growing tulips because of predation problems.
Thanks, Squirrly!
ReplyDelete--Peter
And I always envy people who live in the country. Glad I don't have a groundhog problem.
ReplyDeleteNice blog!
Kim and Victoria,
ReplyDeleteActually, I live in a small city (Ann Arbor, MI, population 114,024), but my yard borders a natural area on two sides.
The best, if you will, of both worlds!
~ Monica
I also have a groundhog problem. We live next to a creek and the groundhogs live on the side of it. They dig holes under the fence to get in my vegetable garden and eat pretty much everything. I used to sprinkle my plants with red pepper and that worked till the next rain. Then I bought a havaheart trap to catch them and relocate them to a nice woodsy area. But that is getting to be a pain. Now I think I have found a solution that works pretty good for me. I sprinkle the used kitty litter around the areas I want to protect and also in the groundhogs holes, this worked well for me last year to keep them of my stuff. Hope you find a solution too. I love all the other critters in my garden and feed them all, but the groundhogs have to get an apartment some place else.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend,Sabine
Hi Monica, no I never heard of Dr. Marianne Bouvier. I don't live real close to Pgh. maybe that's why. I have a nice circle of German friends here were I live and we try to keep up on our Language, but I forgot a lot and I'm learning again thru the German Blogs and Mein Schöner Garten Forum.
ReplyDeleteLiebe Grüsse, Sabine