Helping keep Bambi at bay

December 15, 2008

Written by Plant Publicity Holland

Dec. 15, 2008, Keremoes, B.C. — How often have you heard about deer happily munching away on garden plants, much to the dismay of the owners?

Perhaps a 'stag' reclining in the flowers will keep other stags away!
PHOTO COURTESY PLANT PUBLICITY HOLLAND

Here’s one garden centre addressing the issue head-on with their “Living in Harmony with Nature” display of deer-resistant perennials.
Located on the southern border of interior British Columbia, Don and Anna’s customers come from a 160-kilometre radius and all of them have to co-exist with Bambi and her greatly extended family. Add into the mix that this is Zone 3 gardening, and it’s immediately apparent that we’re talking about a garden centre dedicated to meeting the very specific needs of their customers.
Displays at Don and Anna’s are in alphabetical (Latin) order, and this one in particular uses Zone 3, deer-resistant perennials from A to E, all sold in one-gallon pots for only $7.99.

An ode to Deer Resistant plants! Interesting, whimsical statuary, a lovely assortment of plant material and hard to miss signage that tells all.
PHOTO COURTESY
PLANT PUBLICITY HOLLAND

Artfully displayed around interesting statuary including some peaceful deer, and complemented with “everything one needs to know” signage, the featured plants are: White with Dark Bee Magic Fountain Delphinium, drought tolerant Achillea millefolium ‘Paprika’ with its fragrant cherry red blooms, pale lemon yellow feathery Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ which also tolerates dry soil, two varieties of Aster dumosis ‘Woods’ and ‘Starlight’ (great for fall cut or dried flower arrangements), the velvety silver leaves of groundcover Artemisia stellerana ‘Silver Brocade,’ and the burgundy foliage of Ajuga ‘Burgundy Glow.’
“If you enjoy your wildlife friends,” Anna Bartlett, co-owner of the garden centre says, “the three varieties of Echinacea in the display, ‘Bright Star’, White Swan’ and ‘Harvest Moon’ are a must-have. Not only are they deer-resistant and drought-tolerant, they bring butterflies to the garden and their seed heads feed birds throughout the winter.

A close-up of the signage and its two most important points: Deer Resistant and Dry Soil Tolerant. A closer look tells you the height and breadth of the plant, its sun requirements and that, yes, it will survive winters of minus 40˚C.
PHOTO COURTESY
PLANT PUBLICITY HOLLAND

What a great example of the “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” philosophy. Congratulations Don and Anna!
Don and Anna’s Greenhouses, of Keremoes, British Columbia, is one of the Top Ten winners of the 2007 Perennials Marketing Contest, co-sponsored by Plant Publicity Holland and the Perennial Plant Association.

Reprinted with permission from the August 2008 website edition of Perennial & Nurserynews.com.