Dreaming of Iris

The average high temperature for southeastern Wisconsin for this date is 56 degrees.  It was nowhere near that today.  There is nothing happening in the garden but a few crocuses.  So depressing.  It was snowing yesterday.  Not much for a frustrated gardener to do but dream of spring flowers.  My favorite is iris so while I wait, I'll dream of how the garden will look in 5 or 6 weeks.
                                                                                                                                                                                                         

I know that this will return in a month or so, but it seems so far away when I'm still bundling up in a winter coat and scarf to go outside.  In the mean time I'm planning clients' gardens and browsing garden magazines.
I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas.  Maybe I'll get myself a present - a new iris or two!

Oh, Deer

A few days ago, I went out to cut down some spireas and found that deer have been helping me with the pruning.  Probably a whole herd of deer.  We don't usually get a lot of deer in our subdivision.  I've never given much thought to what they eat.  Now I know that they love roses, yucca, yew, burning bush, flowering plum, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and just about everything else in my yard - but not spireas.  I still had to cut those down myself.

 This was a beautiful yew that's been in for 7 or eight years.  Now it looks like dead sticks. I think I'll replace it with a spirea.

I have  dozen yuccas  that are now eaten down to nothing.  I wonder if they're still going to bloom.  I think I'll replace them with spireas.







This arborvitae was thick all the way to the ground.  Now the trunks are bare up to about deer height. Coincidence?  I don't think so.


If anyone has had success with any of type of deer repellent, I'd love to hear about it.  Otherwise, I might go with a yard full of spireas.  And gnomes - the deer left those alone too.