Hide And Seek - Found Yeah!

 I was puttering in my yard the other afternoon and doing some weeding, dead-heading and pruning, which are endless tasks.  I swear the weeds reappear seemingly overnight and always twice as big, UGH.

As I always do, I cut the spent flower stems from the above hosta and since it's located next to the pool gate and gets so big I typically cut back the leaves that grows into the opening.

As I was in the process of doing just that, pruning shears in my right hand and a handful of the hosta leaves in my left but as I was pulling the leaves back to make my first cut, I noticed this BIG dude dug in the cool dirt, click the link below - 

Peek-A-Boo

I didn't want to disturb this dude or risk scaring it off, so pruning of this plant will have to wait.  Toads have an appetite for insects, especially slugs, so I want this dude to stick around for a long time in the hopes he keeps gorging and growing!

Nibble Nibble, Chew Chew

These are just two examples of the damage the deer have been doing to my hosta plants, and other plants too, throughout my back yard, UGH!

I've only seen the deer, a lone doe, a couple time since early spring, however, other signs of their presence are clear, e.g. their hoof prints in my plant beds and their droppings all over the lawn,  If they'd only eat the unwanted clover then be on their way it would be a win win for both of us, alas.

The Will To Survive

For the person who's "plant challenged" when it comes to planting and raising flower, might I recommend the Hosta?!

There's just no killing this plant, as proof of the above hosta plant growing up and through our driveway.

Now that takes a green thumb!

You Just Can't Keep A Hosta Down

Hosta plants are a super hardy perennial.

They're easy to divide.  They're easy to transplant.  They require almost zero care.

Case in point below - this hosta isn't going to let a new fence and new driveway pavement get in it's way.  As you can see it's fighting it's way up through some of the backtop.

The little hosta that could!

High and Tight?!

 The darn deer are quickly wearing out their Spring welcome here at the ole homestead!

As you can see from the pictures below, they've eaten the tops right off the hosta plants that were beginning to peak through the soil.  They're essentially all been given a military type haircut.

These are just a couple examples of the damage they've already done, UGH!

You can clearly see their hoof marks as they trudge through the flower beds nibbling away.

We enjoy their visits but only when they're in the neighbors yard and eating their plants, haha.

Fall Hosta Haircut

Most of our yards Fall cleanup has been completed.  The cleanup basically consists of cutting back all the flowers and doing a final weeding and cleaning of all beds.  I cut up most of the plants and dump them in the compost pile for future use.  

I intentionally left the Hosta above, as it was a hiding place for a big green Praying Mantis all Summer long.  I would remove it later after we had our first hard frost.

So, I removed and cleaned all around this dude and moved on.  Ironically the next day I noticed that a deer had visited, prolly in the early morning, and decided to assist in trimming this Hosta back.

Of course I would prefer the deer stay out of our gardens.  However, since it's the Fall and this Hosta was destined for the compost pile, it's all good.  At this point it would be nice if they came back and finished the job...

Oh Deer Frances Williams...

This is a picture of a Frances Williams hosta, one of my favorites, and was given to me by Emilie and JoAnne for Father's Day. Unfortunately, I've not had good luck or success with the Frances Williams in the past. The plethora of other hostas we have are doing fantastic. However, this was the one; the one plant that was going to do well, after all it was a given as a special gift, so it must!



Take a look at her today, less than a month since being put in the ground here. Now if her condition doesn't infuriate you then you're dead inside. This is what I came upon the other afternoon and it REALLY makes my blood boil! This was NOT the only plant to fall victim to this carnage. There was another hosta stripped of her beautiful heart shaped leaves, as well as a section of our raspberry bushes, urrgh!!

Care to take a stab (at the guilty party) at who or what is responsible for this pruning?



"(Our) Survey said!" (from the game show Family Feud) -



They were fun to watch when in the neighbor's yard nibbling but not anymore. That all changed when they came a grazing in our yard and gardens. They're NOT too cute to me anymore! If it's not one critter pest, i.e. woodchuck, rabbit, slug even, then it's another! Venison anyone...

Dividing Hostas

Q: When's the best time to divide hostas?

A: You may start new plants by dividing clumps in early spring. Otherwise, clumps may remain undisturbed indefinitely.

The above information was obtained from The Old Farmer's Almanac

"Uncle Tommy" Hosta

Here is a picture of an "Uncle Tommy" hosta of ours, which we appropriately named after JoAnne's uncle who gave them to us. As you can see something just doesn't look right with this plant, wouldn't you agree? Can you tell what it is? It's been eaten; tasted, chewed, nibbled, munched, grazed on darn it! After close examination we know what animal is responsible for this atrocity. Do you?

Here is a clue for you circled in red below. Do you know now? Think people and no peaking at the labels below, that's cheating!

Bingo, you're right, it's a deer. Darn things don't look too cute grazing in the neighbor's yard now that they've decided to dine on our plants. JoAnne sprinkled some chili powered on what remained of this guy, as well as the other hostas in the area. Hopefully this will deter the deer from eating them. The good news, the plant is doing just fine and has bounced back nicely.

Hosta Time

It's the beginning of May here in New England and the plants and animals have come alive. The flowering trees and shrubs have begun to flower and the perennials are pushing their way up through the soil.

One of my favorite's plants is Hostas and they're on the way up too. Added to my excitement is seeing the hostas I transplanted in the fall poking through. I can't recall how many different varieties of hosta we have or their exact names right now but I will get back to you, as I have this written down somewhere.

Here are a few pictures of our hostas from last year. As you can see these are four different varieties: