joene's garden: joene's garden

By joenesgarden, 2 months and 25 days ago

What deer don’t eat, so far …

It's time for me to look at my deer-munched plantings with a glass-half-full attitude. Deer, in large numbers, are here to stay unless my little section of south-central Connecticut is suddenly cohabitated by a throng of hungry mountain lions … but that would bring another set of issues. Enough sniveling over all the greenery I've planted that deer now see as dinner (That's a deer, granddaughter deer. and Do deer tweet?). Time to focus on what deer haven't eaten … yet.

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By joenesgarden, 3 months and 1 day ago

Preventing deer damage

White-tailed deer are beautiful creatures but there are simply too many trying to survive in Connecticut woodlands. My south-central Connecticut town is listed in Connecticut hunting zone 12 which includes shoreline towns from Milford to Stonington and Connecticut River towns of Lyme and East Haddam. Zone 12, along with zone 11 towns in southwestern Connecticut, has extended white-tail deer hunting seasons because of high deer density – as many as 60 to 70 deer per square mile in studied areas of these zones. Considering that deer eat 5 to 10 pounds of plant material per day, deer density exceeding 20 per square mile is enough to significantly alter forest undergrowth.

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By joenesgarden, 3 months and 3 days ago

That’s a deer, granddaughter dear.

I was reading to my two-year-old granddaughter yesterday afternoon when the motion detector alarm by the front porch entry beeped. From our reading chair we looked out to find a four-hooved, instead of a two-legged, visitor. After allowing my granddaughter her first through-the-window close-up look at a white-tailed deer, we ventured to the glass storm door leading to the front porch. There my budding gardening companion had her first experience chasing deer away. A few loud knocks on the glass sent the deer scurrying off towards the woods. My granddaughter was taken aback by the deer's sudden movement, but praise that she had done a good job helping grandma chase the deer away soon changed her tone. She proudly informed grandpa she had chased the deer into the woods. That's my girl!

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By joenesgarden, 3 months and 13 days ago

Flowers, Poo and Fox

First frost has yet to visit my zone 6a gardens in south-central Connecticut but it's right around the corner. Usually by Halloween frost has browned now weary-looking tender plants. A few plants continue to bloom – ageratum, mums, a smattering of lavender and a few morning glories – and look best outside. The better looking blossoms came indoors for close-up enjoyment. The last bouquet from my gardens is one of my most treasured, representing a season of gardening toil, a season of memories, a season of bloomin' beauty.

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By joenesgarden, 5 months and 2 days ago

Irene’s Visit

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene has maximized my time and thoughts for a while now. When potentially damaging weather events are forecast and you live on a country road in rural woods with no major services nearby - closest fresh milk is five miles and nearest gas station is eight miles away - you learn to prepare for multiple days without public utilities. We stored ample fuel to run the generator – lovingly called The Beast - and propane for the gas grill for a few days, drinking water (in case the generator broke and could not run the well pump), non-perishable foods, batteries and flashlights, and any other necessity we could think of. I froze all the peaches I had picked earlier in the week, canned pickles, relishes, and butters, and picked as many veggies and blossoms as possible.

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  • Misjudged collaboration causes an NWF GOOPs:
    • joenesgarden: Jean, I'm glad I could bring you updated news regarding NWF's GOOPs. I agree that the NWF has some credibility rebuilding to accomplish.
    • Jean: Joene, I had seen all the posts about the Scott's-NWF "partnership" but had missed the turnaround news; thanks for bringing me up to date. In these times when ordinary people often feel powerless, it's good to know that popular outrage made a real difference. (I think it's going to take more, though, for NWF to...
    • joenesgarden: Debbie, NWF's GOOPs certainly seemed to be an eye opener for many NWF collaborators. Only time will tell whether NWF's reputation is sullied.
    • Debbie/GardenofPossibilities: Joene, What a good example of a major GOOPs. As Laurrie noted, it's unbelievable that NWF never mentioned the groundswell of outrage as a factor in the decision to end the partnership. I guess regadless of how/why it happened, most people are pleased it's over. BTW, thanks for the shout-out.
    • joenesgarden: Laurrie, The NWF's GOOPs may direct more followers to local wildlife-protecting and environmental organizations. This would be a good thing.
    • Laurrie: Talk about a gardening oops, this was a monster one. Absolute debacle. It's interesting that when they rescinded the partnership they blamed it on the lawsuits and gave no credit to the groundswell of public outrage. Never mentioned that at all. Unbelievable. My OOPS is on my blog today and...
  • Connecticut’s new planting zones:
    • joenesgarden: Jean, I think all seasoned gardeners understand zone map recommendations are no substitute for knowing your property, as your experience with temperature extremes in your Maine garden illustrates. I'm honored you named me as one of your Versatile Bloggers. I would participate if not for the sharing rules ... thanks anyway. I hope...
    • Jean: Joene, I was just looking at the new hardiness zones for Maine, and it brought home your point about knowing your own garden conditions. On the new map, my town has been moved from the boundary of zones 4b and 5a firmly into 5b. But the low temperature for zone 5b is -15F, and I...

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