8. Develop patience
“Remember that when you’re planting, there’s the three-year rule,” says Bonner: “Sleep, creep and leap.” Sometimes a plant doesn’t look like it’s doing much in its first year and people will think it’s not doing well. “Then in its second year it starts to get a little bit better, you get into the ‘creep’ part of it, and then the third year is when the plant really gets established and it bursts forward; that’s the leap.” Patience is an important part of being a gardener, Bonner says, and if you’re in doubt about a plant in its first year, just give it two more.
9. Deer deterrents
Master Gardener Cheryl Alloway recommends planting ornamental grasses as a deterrent to deer. “There are very few things that are totally deer-resistant,” she says, “but ornamental grasses are a go-to plant for me because the deer don’t touch them at all.” If you want something in your garden that you know the deer is going to go after, plant ornamental grasses like maiden grasses or fountain grasses near it and the deer will not want to walk through that area, she says.
Alloway also recommends applying a good deer-repellent spray to your garden on a regular schedule (write it on your calendar and stick to it, she says). “For the last three years I’ve used a locally-produced, all-natural product from Red Hook called Deer Defeat, and I’m just really impressed with how well it works. I used to rotate through a lot of different products, changing up to keep the deer confused, but I keep going back to this because it works so well.” It has a strong garlic odor that will diminish within a day, she says, but the product will continue working even through heavy rain for about a month.
