Mary Cope
As winter goes on, our wildlife friends may begin to run out of food. As this happens, they push farther into the areas that people inhabit. A prime example of this is shown by the common white-tailed deer and by rabbits.
At this point, these deer are running somewhat low on food, despite the number of thaws we have had, this year. The deer may begin to visit yards to nibble on some sweet sapling or young trees. Rabbits will also do the same to shrubs, and many rodents fancy those nice flower bulbs you worked so hard to plant this past fall!
It is a little too late to do much about this fact now, but in order to avoid this problem in the future, I have a few tips to save your plants, next winter. Around the bases of trees and bushes you wish to keep safe, you can put chicken wire, to protect them from deer and rabbits. The deer like to strip the bark off of the trunk and eat the developing buds your tree or bush produces. The chicken wire should prevent your plant from being skinned; just make sure you put enough space between the tree and the outside of the chicken wire!
As for the bulbs, you can plant them in pots that you keep in the shed or garage, for the winter. Then, you can simply place them in the ground when spring rolls around! This will protect the bulbs from the hungry critters that burrow in the ground, like mice, moles, and voles.
Hopefully, your gardens will fare well, and soon, little flowers will be popping out of the ground!
