Bambi is no longer welcome here

One of the things I love about the area where Kelly Gardens is situated is the abundance of wildlife. I remember when we first used to go up and visit, we'd be hushed and awed when a deer and her fawns came up the drive in the early morning or evening. We'd rush to get the camera and shout in whispers and try not make sudden moves so we wouldn't scare the deer away.

Well, I think I'd scream blue murder now if I saw a deer in my garden. (Does this mean I'm now a real country person?). And I bet you can guess why the change of heart. We have just returned home from our first visit to Kelly Gardens this year. And what did we find?  The deer have used Kelly Gardens as a salad bar.

We really shouldn't have been surprised; after all, we know that deer have regular trails all over our property, we know they get hungry in the spring, and we know that they like to eat. We just didn't expect them to pull up all the adorable miniature Chamaecyparis that we planted last year, decide they didn't really like the taste, and spit them out down the hill! 

Bambi also decimated the Korean Fir, which had weathered a winter and grown a good 6 inches.

Abies Koreana "Horstmanns Silberlocke", planted June 2011

Here's what's left of the Korean Fir after Bambi had finished with it. Picture taken in May 2012.  I wanted to weep.

Here's the Picea orientalis "Tom Thumb" right after it was planted.

At purchase "Tom Thumb" was 7" wide  by 5 1/2" tall (credit, David's data base)

And here it is again after the deer had given it a hair cut. Luckily it is putting out some new growth, which is bright yellow/green.

David is of the opinion that I'm taking this loss far too seriously, and perhaps he has a point. I'll get over it, but meanwhile the fight to foil the deer is on. But I will probably still be in awe when I see the deer in the garden.


P.S. It wasn't all bad news. The deer left many things alone, including the Juniperus communis compressa. This gave us heart, and, more importantly a big clue... Bambi doesn't seem to like Juniper. Let's buy some more!

Juniperus communis compressa 9" tall by 3" wide at planting (May 2011) and very slow growing.

P.P.S. The deer also didn't spot the Japanese Maple, perhaps because it hadn't leafed out yet.
Shhhhh, let's keep that one a big secret.