Peanut Butter is what we use on mouse traps when they invade the garage especially during the winter when they're looking for a warm place to nest. Mice seem like a faint memory of the good old days when they were the only critters that caused me heartburn. I know it isn't an annual but the deer ate every leaf off a Hydrangea that I've babied for 8 months back from a bare stick. I kept it in the garage for the winter and only started putting "Gertrude" out for some daylight about 6 weeks ago and out all night, little hussy, about 3 weeks ago. Correction...they didn't eat the 4 leaves that had some sort of brown spots on them. Something is getting over/under the fencing I just put around the Butterfly Garden but there aren't any hoof marks so it's either rabbits or groundhogs. I don't see any burrows under the fence and it's pretty tight to the ground with overhang. I'm going to get some garden pins and see if that helps. I know it won't but it's at least an effort. How high can rabbits reach? Some buds that were almost 2' high were clipped off. From what I'm reading here it seems like it must have been a rabbit since leaves and buds were "clipped" and groundhogs are said to eat wholesale and indiscriminately. Whatever it is they don't seem keen on Cleome or blue Queen Victoria Salvia which they've never touched...not even the ones I have at the mailbox where any critter can step right up from the street or driveway including the deer that sample there every night. What astounds me is there is Curly Parsley and Fennel for Swallowtails in fenced butterfly garden and they don't touch it! Wouldn't you think they would go for those greens first? Guess the expensive "salad bar" is more to their liking. I better get another bag of Bloodmeal and try that all over the butterfly garden. The Butterflies better hurry up or there's not going to be much left for them in the way of nectar. Not having done this before I have no way of knowing what plants will bud and bloom again and what's been finished off for the season. I have Zinnias in pots all over and they don't touch them. The Zinnias in the newly fenced butterfly garden are right there at the buffet so they clip them. Maybe the fence is like a neon sign flashing "Mel's Diner" once I come in for the night.

Sorry about the delay in responding - internet was down....Mindy: I live in Montreal, Québec, so I figure it's US zone 4, based principally on my success/failure rate with certain plants. I've never actually seen Blue Poppies in person, but we have a very famous garden about six hours from here called Reford Gardens that has the Blue Poppy as its official flower. That made me think that I could grow it in my garden. After my original plea for help in July, I went out for a few nights with a flashlight looking for the culprit. When I couldn't find anything on the plant I hoped that the worst was over and that the plant would recover. It never did, unfortunately, and I just had to face the fact that I had provided someone a very expensive midnight snack!! If I buy another one next year I'd like to take precautions when I plant it, to give it a fighting chance. Hopefully one day I'll get to witness the beauty of Blue Poppies in person, or maybe even make it up to Reford Gardens. By the way, it's a great place to visit. Every summer they invite artists to create installations in the gardens. Magic...

Just wanted to post a follow-up. Every single one of the 10 hostas I've planted so far has come up! These Gilbert H. Wild ("hostas by the handful") bare root hostas have done GREAT. I planted them in my west-facing, clay soil bed (amended heavily with composted, shredded pine bark) which receives the afternoon sunlight the hostas love. Also snaked through a drip hose through the bed. Varigated hydrangeas from Bluestone Perennials are structuring the back of the bed. I'd like to plant heuchera, too, and maybe some ferns and lady's mantle. I suspect that frequent, deep watering is one of the keys to success. Next step is to buy a timer! Quick question: would mulching with either newspaper or grass clippings (or a combo) work for my burgeoning hosta bed? THANK YOU ALL!!

where are you anne... and how big are they ... and are you dividing them ... they are not a lost cause... you can dig them up.. and leave them on the driveway all winter.. and they will live ... the petioles.. the stalks.. are still processing energy ... so leave them be.. until they collapse on their own from cold .. every little bit helps.. being leafless ... and you better solve your deer issue.. and usually moving them does not do such ken