Garden Q & A, Part Two of a Zillion

 Last week Sue answered some questions that new gardeners--or gardeners new to our area--often ask.

 Don’t ask me why she’s referring to herself in the third person. No one knows. Perhaps she thinks it sounds more professional?

Q: What about planting “stinky” plants, like lilies, or lilacs, or lavendar?

A: Sometimes it works--elk will avoid highly fragrant flowers. Sometimes an elk comes along that has gone “nose blind” to the smell and then it’s bye-bye to your lovely lilies—even though they were in full bloom.

Q: What about bulbs in a container close to the house?

A: That’s an excellent way to try to minimize elk damage to your plants. It also helps if that plant/container isn’t already on their route to and from their favorite salad bar. Spray Invisible Fencing around and try playing talk radio near your container. Elk have a heck of a learning curve-- but sometimes double/tripling up on your defenses can stymie them. For a while.

Q: What can I do to keep elk out of my garden? I’ve heard good things about Invisible Fence/ Plantskyyd/ stinky rotten egg and garlic spray/ eye of newt and toe of frog*/ Irish Spring soap-on-a-rope/ hair from my hair brush/ a barking dog/a  playing radio all night/ if my kids pees on my plants? Will that keep elk away from my gardens?                                                                                                            

Day one: look at all the flowers!

A: I have tried all those methods—except the frog/newt one—and they all work!

 

Until they don’t.

 

Several years ago we were holding a wedding in the back yard and I was alternating spraying Invisible Fencing (smells of garlic and rotten eggs) and Plantskyyd (made up of what looks to be powdered blood—and smells like fetid carnivore breath) I was alternating them every week—which is a more frequent application than the packaging calls for but I was taking no chances. We managed to get to and thru the late July Big Day with only some minor damage to some outlying wildflower beds. The following week, however, was a different story. Even if your garden survives most of the summer —late summer is when elk turn in to ravenous demon spawn—all bets are off, all items are on the menu. 

Day Two: Look at all the nubs!
Elk damage over night
after a successful summer of keeping them out.
Nothing will stop elk when they have the fall munchies.