Speaking of wildlife...I now have first-hand knowledge and experience of sharing my yard with white-tailed deer and various other fascinating critters.
A while back, we purchased a cottage in northern Michigan in the Village of Empire which is located on the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula and next to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We chose this area because it's federally protected and won't see the intensive development that appears to be rampant almost everywhere else. With so much of this area left in a "natural" state, we are very fortunate to have frequent visits by many of the native residents who call the forests, dunes and grasslands their homes.
Yes, gardening with white-tailed deer and other wildlife is quite different than gardening in the city. I love it! This experience is causing me to grow and stretch my knowledge of plants and "how to plant" in ways that I have never been challenged before. Over these past four years I've planted, observed, planted some more and observed some more in order to learn the hows, whats, whys, and whens of gardening alongside our fascinating Michigan wildlife.
I have already learned to accept native plant/native animal interactions in my city garden. However, these interactions have been on a much smaller scope (such as Monarch caterpillars chewing on milkweed leaves and goldfinches plucking seeds from perennial flowers and grasses) than those I'm now experiencing with deer. Deer are pretty big guys with rather big feet and can have good-sized appetites. There's no doubt when they've made a visit.
Let me share some of the things I've learned so far:
1) I'm still determined to introduce only Michigan native plants in my yard. This became very clear to me when I observed some of the non-natives (which the previous owner had planted) now growing along the forest edge across the street. Plants move around and spread. I only want native plants relocating from my yard into other areas - not non-natives which can easily become invasive and cause problems.
2) Deer do much of the pruning work for me. I hate to prune, so I was ecstatic when I discovered that shrubs in my yard (which could easily become too large for their area) are regularly pruned to just the right size by my resident deer family. Joy!
3) Deer do not eat everything I plant. Yes, they absolutely love the smooth asters and some of the goldenrods. However, they never touch my native grass plantings such as little bluestem, June grass, switch grass, Canada wild rye and Indian grass (incidentally, this is great because the birds love to hop onto the grasses in the fall and peck off the seeds). The deer seldom eat my black-eyed Susans, and don't touch the blazing stars, coreopsis, butterflyweed nor horsemint.
4) The deer family does appear to like chewing on the small shrubs and trees I've planted, such as gray dogwood, serviceberry, black cherry, white & red pines, cedars, and Michigan roses. I've tried planting these in various sizes, groupings, etc. I have done some experimenting with the use of deer repellent. I have now learned that if I use repellent on trees and shrubs immediately after they have been planted, the deer do not eat these plantings.. I've learned that if I even wait one day before using repellent, it can be too late. I've observed that the deer are quick learners with great memories -- if plants taste horrible immediately, they never go back to those plants again. However, if the deer get and like the taste of new plantings before repellent has been applied, they will continue to nibble the plants even if repellent is applied at a later date.
This is why it is so important to allow the same deer families to continue to live in your community. We've all heard about communities who choose to conduct killings of community deer. When your community deer are killed, everything that you have taught them is lost also. Therefore, if the same deer continue to visit your yard, then their good memories will save your plants!
5) I do not grow vegetables, but I've noticed that neighbors who do, generally, have fenced in their garden areas and wind up with very nice produce.
6) People in town have learned to live with the deer, and deer are no big problem. Neighbors talk fondly of the deer and seem to fall into one of two "gardening" categories - a) those who have little or absolutely no landscaping around their homes, and b) those who like to garden and have gone to simple measures (e.g., use of some fencing and/or repellents) to enjoy both their gardens and the village deer.
7) Individuals who like a near-perfect, "untouched-by-critters" garden, should very seriously think twice, three or four times about whether or not a move to the country or near-country is for them. I cannot imagine it being any fun, whatsoever, to constantly battle the wildlife in your garden. Animals live in the country, and they will visit your garden, most likely, each and every day. The deer visit us just about every morning and every evening.
8) Successful gardening in the country requires new skills, patience and a new way of evaluating "ownership" of your land. I quickly learned that although I possessed a deed to the land, I no more owned that land all to myself than I owned the air. I soon discovered that I live on that parcel along with many others who need the area as much as I do. I'm on a learning curve. I'll watch, observe carefully and "learn by doing." Successfully gardening with deer and other wildlife is not at all impossible, as I'm already finding out.
To finish up let me say that I have discovered that it's no less than simply awesome to share my space with the wildlife. Yes, I have many plant/animal interactions (some rather large chompings) but I don't expect, nor want, the animals to disappear. If, by some miracle, I was able to grow perfect plants on the property, boredom would set in pretty quick. Allowing deer, rabbits, opossums, chipmunks, all sorts of birds (even a fox at times!) to share this space with me is incredibly enriching. And, if the critters don't mind putting up with me, well, I can certainly learn to tolerate them and create planted areas that we can all enjoy and benefit from.
to return home.
Earth-Joy, 22493 Milner, St. Clair Shores, MI 48081, (586)778-0443 (12/02)
