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Mule Deer in Our Midst







Last Sunday my family took a drive up Butterfield Canyon. I was anticipating the pleasure of seeing the beautiful colors of fall leaves. I was pleasantly surprised to see the doe and fawn that crossed the road (one in front of our car and the other behind our car). On our return trip back down the canyon we came across them again.     They stopped and nibbled at something on the side of the road. Madison marveled at how near they were to our car and that if she reached out the window she could probably touch one! It was amazing that they didn't appear frightened by us at all.
Several times this week I thought about those deer. I'm still not sure what they were nibbling at, all I could see was gravel on the side of the road. I have seen Mule Deer in several urban areas: West Jordan, South Jordan, Herriman, Sandy and Draper. I know people sometimes struggle with the damage that deer do to plants in their yards, fields, and gardens. I remember seeing helpful information in various plant catalogs and decided to look up some plant suggestions for gardeners.
If you have deer visiting your yard here are some plants that, Deer-Resistant Landscape Nursery states deer tend to avoid: Barberry, Bleeding Hearts, Boxwood, Butterfly Bush, Daphne, Ferns, Foxglove, Hardy Geranium, Hellebore, Jacob's Ladder, Lamb's Ear, Lavender, Mint, Oriental Poppy, Peony, Privet, Shasta Daisy, Smoke Bush, Spruce, Thyme, and Yarrow. Many of these plants are poisonous for people so it's not surprising that deer would avoid them.
This is a good time to plant perennials. The roots of the plants can get established well during the winter and come next spring you will have some fantastic plants that the deer won't touch! Even though it is fun to see the wild animals visiting, we hate the damage that they leave behind!
Have you had deer visit your yard? What deer-proof plants have you planted?

2 comments:

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Unknown said...

Thank you for the nice comment and for sharing! I hope you're having a wonderful fall season.