Make Your Own Deer Repellant
In early spring, when new growth is especially tender and tasty to deer, I spray the perimeter of our garden with this homemade brew. It reminds the deer that our garden is out of bounds.
Here's the recipe:
6 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (you can substitute hot pepper sauce)
5 or 6 drops liquid hand soap
1 gallon water
Beat the egg yolks with a wire wisk until frothy, add the Tabasco (or hot pepper sauce) and pour into a gallon of warm water. Squirt the liquid soap into the mixture.
I use a small pressurized tank sprayer to apply this mixture to the bark of trees and shrubs and around the base of flowers and vegetables. The aroma alone will stop most deer, and a taste of treated foliage will send them on their way! Reapply after a heavy rainfall or as often as necessary.
Favorite or New Plant
Autumn crocuses are such a welcome sight! Just as everything else in the garden begins to disappear, they send up their bright and cheery blossoms. My collection includes Crocus speciosus with violet flowers and C. kotschyanus with lavender-blue blooms.
Autumn crocuses are particularly effective when planted in drifts or massed along the edges of flower beds. I have some tucked into the rock garden and placed under deciduous shrubs where their bright blooms are unexpected. Although they are tolerant of dry shade, they perform best in full sunshine, in rich, well-draining soils.