Companion Planting, Kinda Sideways
Jul. 23rd, 2021 04:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mama_kestrelThis has not been a great year for me physically. Short version is thar covid knocked out my thyroid, and getting the dosage for replacement adjusted takes time. End result: garden? What garden?
On the other hand, I have perennials in monster pots on my deck. I did that originally so that my garden-mad mom could putter on a level surface, and it worked beautifully. Meanwhile, there were roses, lavender, thyme, and a whole bunch of mints that came back cheerfully, along with some annuals that had self-seeded. And weeds. Oh, merciful deities, the weeds. Which I didn't have the spoons to pull.
The most abundant of them is yellow woodsorrel, growing in merry mounds around the roses. Which is when I noticed something. We have deer. Lots and lots of deer; far more than I would have expected in an urban backyard. Those deer had been eating my roses, along with low hanging leaves on a number of my trees. But where the woodsorrel is growing, the roses are thriving. Apparently the deer dislike the scent so much that they don't reach past it for the rose leaves. So even though I'm finally starting to get my energy back, I'm leaving the woodsorrel alone. My roses will be much happier that way.
On the other hand, I have perennials in monster pots on my deck. I did that originally so that my garden-mad mom could putter on a level surface, and it worked beautifully. Meanwhile, there were roses, lavender, thyme, and a whole bunch of mints that came back cheerfully, along with some annuals that had self-seeded. And weeds. Oh, merciful deities, the weeds. Which I didn't have the spoons to pull.
The most abundant of them is yellow woodsorrel, growing in merry mounds around the roses. Which is when I noticed something. We have deer. Lots and lots of deer; far more than I would have expected in an urban backyard. Those deer had been eating my roses, along with low hanging leaves on a number of my trees. But where the woodsorrel is growing, the roses are thriving. Apparently the deer dislike the scent so much that they don't reach past it for the rose leaves. So even though I'm finally starting to get my energy back, I'm leaving the woodsorrel alone. My roses will be much happier that way.
