flora with leaves as shrill as razor blades . Plants that smell like lousy meat . Plants that will cause severe gastrointestinal problems if ingest . These all sound like big garden gain , right-hand ? lease me run right out to the glasshouse and buy all of these “ nasties ” ! I think you ’d be in the nonage if that ’s what you ’re thinking .
When you see the first part of the headline on page 36 , “ Nasty industrial plant … ” ( Online:12 Beautiful plant That Evolved Nasty Defenses Against Pests ) , you might think we ’ve lose our minds here atFine Gardening . But take a closer look at the 2d one-half of that headline : “ … for a Nicer Garden . ”This featureby Bonni Engelhardt confront a harsh reality , head on . Most gardeners battledeer , bunny , gophers , and unnumbered other fuzzy plant predator . According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , there are about 36 million deer in the United States . Now I have no idea how they determine these sorts of thing , but that count seems oddly precise to me . As I sat down to compose this letter , I glanced out my office windowpane to see a sizable seraglio of female deer making their mode along the woodland edge of my property , their sights gear up on my ‘ Filips Magic Moment’arborvitae , no question . “ I need to get out there with some atomiser , ” I thought .
Winteris on the apparent horizon here in New England , and the four - legged pests are nonplus brazen . But I ’m baffle hackneyed of dousing sealed plants with impediment on a regular basis . Given the size of it of my garden and the expense of building material , however , a fence is not a viable choice unless failure is a terminus I find palatable .
This is why the construct lay out in Bonni ’s clause is so appealing to me . Why not fill our bed with plants that protect themselves ? These option are n’t ugly by any stretch of the imagination . In fact , if gardener were simply presented with the plant list and no matter classification , I ’m certain most of them would add many to their 2024 shopping listing . Who would n’t be adopt by the arresting site of a backlit winged thorn rose ?
Now , these “ nasties ” do n’t come without a admonition recording label . If you have minor or dearie that wish to crop upon the garden ’s offerings , toxic plant life are n’t a in force option . And you are going to need some long - care pruners and a sturdy pair of leather boxing glove to lop a few of these selection if you treasure the pelt on your implements of war at all . But that seems like a minor price to make up for an array of plants that will never need any shelter from me to look great .
Despite all the deer atomiser I administer , my arbs still get browsed every class . And trust me—‘Filips Magic Moment ’ is n’t so magical when it looks like a pathologic , misshapen pointer . That ’s a sight that truly merit the label “ tight . ” Spring chore list , item # 1 : Remove arborvitae ; substitute with ‘ Sasaba ’ holly tea Olea europaea .
— Danielle Sherry , executive editor
Issue 214 is available online now
See the article Danielle references in her letter :
12 Beautiful Plants That Evolved Nasty Defenses Against pest
Fine Gardening Recommended product
The New Organic Grower , 3rd Edition : A Master ’s Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener , 30th Anniversary Edition
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Bring on the spines!Winged thorn rose is the perfect addition to this deer-resistent combo that includes caladium (Caladiumcv., Zones 8–12) and New Zealand flax (Phormiumcv., Zones 9–11).Photo: Stephanie Fagan
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The rose thorns are gorgeous when backlit (left) and are only slightly bigger than those of holly tea olive (right).Photos: (left) Nancy J. Ondra, (right) courtesy of Andy Pulte
