We are pleased to share the musings of a long-time volunteer and member of the Columbus Park of Roses Foundation who has mixed feelings for deer.

I love white-tailed deer. They are beautiful creatures and their fawns could not be cuter. When I grew up in Clintonville many years ago, I never saw deer in the neighborhood. Now, they are almost everywhere in Clintonville, including the Columbus Park of Roses, where I have volunteered for many years.

All too often, our Clintonville gardens, including the Columbus Park of Roses, show unmistakable signs of deer browsing with whole plants eaten overnight, daylily and rose buds chewed off just as they were about to bloom and leaves missing from shrubs.

In my garden, I have learned to live with deer and even enjoy their visits by gardening with plants and shrubs that deer generally avoid. Plantings that have leathery or fuzzy leaves and/or strong odors are not appetizing for deer. I have found that many native Ohio plants are deer resistant and I look for those and ones that are marked “deer resistant” and have been pleased with their survival rates, not only from deer browsing, but also from our often brutal Ohio weather.

Perennials in my garden that the deer avoid include:

• Bee Balm
• Black-eyed Susan
• Cat Mint
• Iris
• Lamb’s Ears
• Lavender
• Lenten Roses
• Purple Coneflower
• Yarrow
• Yucca
• Most ornamental grasses

Shrubs not favored by deer:

• Peonies
• Pieris
• Viburnum, although deer in my yard have eaten their flower buds

Deer dining favorites in my garden:

• Azalea
• Daylily buds
• Hosta
• Hydrangea (leaves and buds)
• Roses (buds and sometimes the rest of the bush)

I have also tried several different types of deer repellants such as soap, garlic, various powders that are spread on the ground and spray repellants including those containing hot peppers and those smelling like rotten eggs. While I have learned to live with the deer, occasionally they will eat a plant I particularly like and the repellant weapon comes out.

My favorite is Liquid Fence Concentrate Deer and Rabbit Repellant mixed with water and a few drops of Science Spreader-Sticker applied with a watering can. It smells like rotten eggs until it dries, when humans can no longer smell it, but deer can and they don’t much care for it. Unfortunately, it is expensive and must be reapplied with some frequency, especially when there is a lot of rain. I use it only on individual plants.

At the Columbus Park of Roses, rose buds, daylily buds, hosta and other deer favorites are in abundance. Without diligent care and attention, there would be far fewer plants for us to enjoy. Columbus Park of Roses staff also use Liquid Fence to repel deer. In the Perennial Garden, tulips are a thing of the past as deer seemed to consider tulip buds candy. Instead, daffodils are used to provide early color.

Not only can deer be considered pests during the growing season, but in fall and early winter, male deer (bucks) rub their antlers against trees, especially small trees (as seen at the right). Too often, a small tree can be girdled (bark removed on all sides of the tree), killing the tree.

The staff at the Columbus Park of Roses enclose the park’s small trees and shrubs with black plastic deer fencing 5’-6’ tall. Some of the plantings remain fenced all year; especially those in out-of-the way areas, while others are enclosed from August until the deer-rubbing danger is over for the season.

In my yard, I use a plastic tree wrap that I apply in mid-October to trees with a trunk diameter of 5” or less. I unwrap the trees prior to the next growing season, around March 1.

One last note: deer can be dangerous, at least to our pets if they get too close to fawns while their mama doe is nearby. Clintonville dogs have been badly injured in such situations.

Deer are beautiful creatures and fun to watch when not eating up our gardens! I have learned to relax and enjoy them….most of the time!