Three years ago, before planting trees and garden I built a seven strand 5' high-tensile electric fence around the area. I baited it with peanut butter covered aluminun strips. The idea is to attract the deer to the bait, have them touch the aluminum, get shocked, and leave the area. It worked for two years, but last year we had a drought and pastures and other food sources dried up. The deer went over the fence and into the orchard / garden a few times. Very little damage, and I'll keep an eye on things to see what happens this spring. If they return, I'm considering two options: 1) putting a dog in the area, which will keep them out, or 2) attaching an angled pole to some of my existing uprights at 60' or so spacing, and putting a couple strands of wire on the higher end. This will raise the height to 7' or 8', and also increase the width. Unlike the diagram in the link below, I don't think I'll need to put wire on the lower end of the slant, but just on the upper. Unfortunately, the fence does nothing to keep out the squirrels, which eat more fruit, and simply jump between the strands. The dog is the best deterrent for them. Here is a link that might be useful: Angled fence diagram

Hi, everyone. Melissa, I don't know whar our annual rainfall is, nor exactly what kind of rock it is I have mostly. I think it might be the raw material for terracotta though. It is predominantly this very soft rock that in many places literally makes up the only "soil" that is there. It is a total b###h to dig and work this type of earth; as of now I have all the paths covered in mounds of this rock which I've removed in the course of making the beds. Once exposed to the elements, it starts very quickly crumbling into smaller pieces,which in time very gradually will continue to break down until it becomes clay. So I think it's very poor and alkaline. I gave in and watered some of the new implants the other day. Probably not necessary (none were wilting) but I felt so bad for all of the roses. Many have leaves that are turning yellow,so that means they are going dormant. There are a few, very poor quality flowers. I agree, sort of pointless when it's so hot and unpleasent outdoors,you don't want to encourage roses to bloom in July here in Italy at least. IMHO, they just exhaust themselves. Paul Zimmerman said he treats summer as a dormant time for roses, and I think he's right.Contrary to what tourist publicity wants us to think, in reality summer is the beginning of the year's decline. A few years ago, I tried soaker hoses, but gave it up:I'm still changing too much in my garden,it's on such a steep slope that I'm not confident that the water is being distributed evenly, and above all I just don't have enough stored-up water to really SOAK the roses. When I dug up some roses that I had watered artificially to move them, they really did, quite literally, have roots growing UPWARD to the soil surface!So, I stopped . Maybe one day I'll have my act together enough to lay down the hoses under a thick mulch, and use them to distribute water, not with the idea of watering the roses, but only in the spring, with the idea of maintaining the soil moisture as far into the season as possible.This past year, we had good rain during autumn and winter,but the "drought" (I put that in quote after reading about greybird's situation)in April messed things up. regards, bart

Like Jeri, Seil, Jaqueline and Rosefolly said, chill y'all. Remember, this is a forum and consists of typing words. Words alone do not convey attitude, or complete thoughts. Communication consists of "word, tone, inflection, body language, etc.". The last of which convey 90% of the "message" is non-verbal!!!! Please do not read the last three, or more into the words written on this forum. Here is a video clip from the TV series "Friends" that illustrates this FACT very well. Most people do not realize that 90 percent of human communication is Non-verbal, tone, body language, expressions, tone etc. Actors, psychologists, politicians and highly trained law enforcement officials understand this very well. Please pause and consider if the typed words, actually convey the real message, or if you are reading things in based on your own reactions to the written words. if this suggestion interests you, watch this video also and learn what you already know unconsciously and understand that in a written communication there are may subconscious visual cues that you interpret face to face, that do not inform you when you read. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBrYea03L8Y Concise, neutral, written communication is a very difficult art to master and in our information age the lack of visual cues is a very serious problem with respect to transmitting a written message and ensuring our audience interprets it as it is meant. This is truth, please don't read attitude into the words written on the forum. Cheers, Rick PS - I teach a course for law enforcement staff called Tactical Communications, this knowledge is helpful and with respect to human communications, this knowledge is critical for true understanding of what a message means when transmitted.

I checked out Rose Petals and they do have several very intriguing offerings. But, wow! From Florida to California, they only offer the three day shipping. One rose, $15 plus $53 shipping. So, I figured, go in with some friends to soften the shipping. Four roses, $60, plus nearly $98 shipping. 8 roses were $120 plus $180.86 shipping. Oh, well.