No surprise, this “confessional” is always a favorite blog… but I haven’t posted for a while because the oops were so dismal (like the Beech Leaf Disease attacking our beloved beeches, especially the copper variety). But at a point one has to learn to take things in stride, n’est-ce pas? And try to find some humor in these oopsies. But this also needs to be an instructive blog, hence the “Recourse” (it’s still too early to know whether these are actual “solutions”). Plus some good news scattered among the brambles.
Exhibit 1: The Feature image (above), our oval fountain in the first garden you enter (through tall antique iron gates.) Of course the deer were coming in droves~ we were the neighborhood watering hole!! They would have a photo app with the tourists next door at Rosecliff, and then come trotting over here for a cocktail. How they navigate our narrow paths and tall hedges is beyond me… Recourse The iron gates are too tall to jump over, but we had to create a makeshift, high deer netting “fence” at the other entry.
Exhibit 2: While we’re speaking of the dear deer…all was in just-manicured readiness for a garden tour the next day. I took this picture of our 80′ rose chain in the evening in all its June beauty.
This is what greeted my guests the next morning…not a rose to be seen. The deer had obviously added a rose buffet to their evening festivities. Recourse: I have fingers crossed as I pass along some hopefully good news we’ve experienced recently: Deer Stopper and Deer Stopper II, (All Natural!) WORKS to deter the littlle darlings!! Made by Messinas (available on Amazon).
Exhibit 3: Ranking right up there in the critters and insets challenges is the cicada wasp that famously serves as a cicada killer. Thanks, but no thanks! They chose to nest in the sand under our bluestone path to the front door. Not a very gracious welcome for summer guests! Recourse: train them to move to another location.
Exhibit 4: Not to be confused with the cicada wasps, the benign-sounding carpenter bees are anything but…they burrowed with a vengeance into the cedar beams of our pergola, forcing us to 1) remove all the wisteria and 2) replace all of the beams (after only 5 years). Recourse: Upgrade the cedar and coat the new beams with linseed oil.
Exhibit 5: Bunnies!!! Grrrr-I’m thinking of moving to England, they supposedly don’t have any. What part of our 3 acres the deer haven’t attacked, the bunnies have. Our cutting garden, so pretty last year
has been unceremoniously turned into a chicken/turkey wire version of Fort Knox. Recourse: possibly put up a formal gate, but it would still require netting to fill in spaces…
Exhibit 6: Tulips! Nothing is off limits, it seems…what the bunnies don’t take care of above ground, the voles dispense with below ground. So, we gave up planting bulbs in the ground and turned to pots; somehow voles, squirrels, whatever managed to get into the orangerie and chew the poor bulbs. And how I love having potted tulips throughout the house…
Recourse: Tap someone to grow them in vermin-proof greenhouses.
Exhibit 7: At a point, one starts to feel as though they are living in Biblical times- pestilence, wind, locust (or cicadas), hail, Boxwood Blight! High winds and torrential rains, once considered one-off occurrences, are now almost weekly events. Whatever it may have been, our 25 year old Korean box hedge, a mainstay of the Fountain Garden, running the length of the limestone-capped wall and accented with large stone containers filled with seasonal plants, finally expired.
Recourse: Happy News! Replace it with holly which prunes just as beautifully as box!! And, leave enough room along the front of the hedge to plant the glorious new cultivars of hellebores!!
Well, the confessional is finished; the unvarnished truth as lived in a Newport garden! Thanks for bearing with me. As an antidote, I’ll have a “Good Decisons” blog to post next month. Enjoy the rest of August!
I always say there’s an entire Watership Down under Aquidneck Island. Keep up the good fight, Bettie!
None of the ooopsies take away from your glorious garden, so beautifully planned and maintained. We can relate to all of the exhibits and admire your fortitude in tackling each problem!
I’m right there with you Bettie. Sometimes I think we need to give up gardening though I know I never would. It seems if isn’t one thing it’s sure enough another. I got very tired of going out every night and watering for two or three hours In blistering heat. We don’t have deer but we have squirrels. They’re adorable and I do feed them peanuts every day. They’re actually like little outdoor pets. They also dig in my pots and plant walnuts, peanuts, dig things out and make a mess. We also have the threat Of the ones dormant now, resurrected rose Rosette virus, which has a potential to eradicate the entire species of roses. I took around three already one of them a David Austin. I noticed two weeks ago five enormous old roses On the universities property that had the dreaded disease and I reported it immediately. They already took them down and they’re Also going to dig the roots out.They were too close for comfort to our place And major threat to our Rose Gardens. We have to learn to take it in stride as you say and realize that mother nature always wins. No matter what she always has the final say .
What holly did you use to replace the boxwood?
What? I thought your piece of paradise was immune. Nonetheless, whatever you plant is always spectacular. Our home in CT had 8 acres of landscaping with vegetable gardens and fruit trees/ bushes. Guess who got all of the raspberries first? Not us. The birds won every year.
This brought such a smile to my face with the recourses – as said above – the issues you have faced have not deterred from the beauty of your space!
I could weep…40 years have gone into our planting…4 hours (?) stripped. EVERY THING you just shared is…relatable. Deer “resistant” is a joke with the number of deer roaming. Don’t get me started w/squirrels…awaken to noise…squirrels climbing on our window screens!! Not the view we planned. Truly discouraging…yet, our cone flowers are covered w/bright yellow finches…all is well…franki
The gardener’s version of the worst he**. I feel for you! Auggggggh! Sounds like you have indeed come up with good solutions, but still, makes my heart weep a bit for the devastation.
Had Job been evicted from the stomach of the “Right Whale” off your glorious coast, his description of gastric juices horrors would not have topped your tale of the Battle of Bambi and Thumper! For years I have cowered in my sleep at the thought of the deer invading my little garden rooms, as the carpenter ants, bees, etc. had already had their way with decks, windows, and walls. And then, and THEN, there is Alvin, ( the chipmunk) who is so enormous, my grandchildren giggled at my description of him dining on nuts in order to power himself to keep tunneling through my stone walls, which are about to collapse from his endeavors.
My hostas have been the appetizers for the deer and my hydrangeas have been the main course. The red rose virus has attacked all my roses and I was instructed to not only dispose of the entire vines and root balls, but the dirt, too. When you come visit, I will be content that you understand the results of animal pruning and will provide solutions!
Awww… beyond imaginings… Oh Bettie, a sad tale of what should have been sweet reward for your valiant efforts. Your gardens are so superb and I have
always been intrigued by your rose chain (alas)… Gardening has never been for the faint of heart…. Mother used to say, “Keep your chin up and it will
not become double.” Your solutions warrant a try for our garden. Many thanks.
I have a client that has a house in East Texas and the deer never got the memo of what not to eat even though I research before selecting plants. TOTAL FRUSTRATION!!
Not giving up…I put mouth balls in fabric spice bags and tied then to the plants. This was to keep pets and kids from getting to them. WORKED!!! They hate mouth balls…HA. You must replace them about 1 time a month (depending on rain and irrigation)but a small price to pay.
I also found Mighty Mint on line..it stopped rats from eating my plants..this company also has balls that smell like mint/mouth balls…give them a try.
Good Luck
Ugh. Deer. We have a “herd” that roams our suburban neighborhood, and the females are fertile. I watched twin fawns with faded spots browse their way behind my rhododendrons early one morning this week. They haven’t yet discovered my Hosta “island” but it sure looks like a 50 foot salad bar ready and waiting for them.
Once this current rain front passes, I will resume regular spraying with Deer Away which is all natural and works well. I order a case each spring!
LOVELY LADY,
THOUGH MY FAMILY NAME IS SPELLED: ‘GARDNER’ – NOT HAVING THE … ” I ” …
NOR THE ‘ISLAND’ IN THE HAMPTONS; I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A DEEP APPRECIATION OF ‘NATURE’ – IN ALL ITS … ‘AU NATURAL’ BEAUTY.
BUT IT IS PEOPLE SUCH AS YOURSELF, WHO NEVER FAIL TO INSPIRE WHAT WE … MERE MORTALS, CAN ONLY DREAM OF CREATING.
BRAVO & A THOUSAND THANKS FOR SHARING.
TOM
What a cleverly worded and educational OOPS in the Garden piece this year….albeit at Bettie’s garden’s expense !! Hoping that better times are coming for Parterre’s gorgeous gardens.
CRITTERS….I have experienced most of your oops….gardens are definitely a labor of love!
Bettie I am so sorry about your critter problem. Our little garden has most of the, too. It can be discouraging! Thanks for sharing your solutions and good humor.
I am surprised, and delighted, you didn’t pave it over and put in a parking lot! Thanks for sharing!!!! Can’t wait for the next blog about what went right. xx