I had such a beautiful long planter filled with Cosmos. They were doing so well and was eagerly anticipating their blooming. I checked them every day for slugs, found and removed one slug. This morning looked out my window and saw how great the Cosmos were coming along. Went outside this afternoon and the Cosmos had been eaten way down to bare stems, some even pulled out by the roots. I am so sad.

Welcome to the best part of the world Fossilnut! We are over the hill from you on the big river side. We can't thank you enough. You are doing the right thing. All our children will benefit. The only things Mulees dont eat are tin cans, Thistles, Mullen and Napweed. And whatever the elk and the white tails get first. They come for your grass. The less you have the less they like you. Unless they are taking your water you can "steer" them next door by making sure their grass is easier and better. They are smart about food. You will have to plant all the floweres and see what likes your micro-climate, some of our flowers are really picky about where they grow. Just remember our flowers arent used to good soils and they like singing. The beautiful flowers we have are Arnica, Balsam [Arrowleaf], Fireweed, Salsify, Larkspur, Sunflower, Glaicer Lilly, Mariposa lilly, Shooting star [and about 10 other little Lillys], Astor, Death Camas, Yarrow, Fleabane, Spring Beauty, wild strawberry, Waterleaf, Phlox, Buttercup, Mustard, Scarlet Gilia, Sheep sorrel and Shepards purse. Almost all of them should grow at the lake. New guys are required to grow Camus, Wild rose, Indian paintbrush and Bitterroot to demonstrate community spirit. Of course we have a bunch more that don't flower and the birds love the Thistles and Mullen both. We have 7 and 8 foot Mullen 3 inches from our kitchen window so the birds sit at table top levle and eat and sing to us. Our - your new - state birds favorite plant is Thistle. The Wild Strawberry, Balsam, Phlox, Lupine, Yarrow and Fireweed seems to get ignored by most of the 4 footers. The Deer and Elk take the willow buds and ANYTHING else once the weather turns. You might think about putting out a salt lick and some feed for them away from your flowers if you have enough room. Yard dogs work on everything except carpetbaggers and revenuers. If you go across to HWY 25 and head south there are old fruit trees along the road you can collect seed from and there are the very best Huckelberrys in the world in all those little hills to your east. The Deer dont seem to like Wild Raspberry much if you like larger plants. We hope your yard gets full of colour and song. J.R.

Grasses are deer resistant, Why? Deer are browsers, not grazers. So you can plant most any grass without worry about the deer. Other natives. Pressure by deer is extremely high here so I have to choose very carefully. I've also found nothing is 100%, but here are some natives that I have found great plants for deer resistancy: Cassia hebecarpa - Wild Senna Jeffersonia diphillea - Twinleaf (woodland) Podophyllum peltatum - Mayapple (woodland) Arisaema species - Jack in the pulpit species (woodland) Pachysandra procumbens - Alleghany spurge (native pachysandra) Allium species - wild/flowering onions, wild leeks, etc. Arundinaria gigantea - canebrake (our only native) bamboo Asimina triloba - Pawpaw (small tree) Ilex opaca - American Holly These have all proven their worth in my garden and woods. Another shrub/small tree is Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis). They do eat it to some degree, but it's good for other wildlife as well. Good luck!

It seems to depend a lot on location :-) Deer in some areas have much broader appetites than those living in other places. And what other common deer fodder is available will also have a bearing. Snowberry is a native here and seems to be mostly ignored by deer. And beautyberry also does not seem to be high on their list of favored plants. Doesn't mean they won't sample but I wouldn't describe either as 'deer candy'. ps. I live in "deer heaven" also!!