After thirty years of beautiful roses in my front garden, the deer finally chewed them to almost death. What did grow was chlorotic and stunted. I began to think these lovely old roses also had some dreaded virus. I finally made the decision to remove them all and replace with something the deer might not like. The first phase happened last year when four beds were put to turf and the roses that could be salvaged were replanted where the old currant bushes used to be in my back garden.

This year’s job turned out to be a massive operation as the roses in a larger bed were so well established their roots were like tree trunks and tenacious to say the least. Pieces of each were once again transplanted and squished in to places in the back well-fenced garden. ‘Survival of the fittest is my motto’ but I really would like these old and irreplaceable varieties to survive the move. The crocus corms were carefully screened out and also replanted.

A new blank canvas remained. Although I vowed to try and make the garden easier to maintain I just could not put down more turf. Determined to prove there are plants our huge numbers of urban ungulates will leave alone, I chose a rather formal arrangement of small shrubs and grasses. Deer generally do not like ornamental grasses as their leaves are sharp to the tongue. Feather Reed Grass, ‘Karl Foerster’ and Blue Oat Grass, Helictotrichon sempervirens are staples around town. There are never guarantees, when it comes to a deer’s preferred palette however, so please wish me luck.

I started with three ground level grafted Caraganas with the same feathery foliage as my Caragana lorbergii. The ungulates have never touched that pretty tree and these small prostrate shrubs should creep out and act as a ground cover between the grasses. In the center of the bed I planted a ‘Morden’ or Japanese Yew, Taxus cuspidata, very toxic. It is small with a fountain shape at the moment but in time I hope it can be a topiary of sorts. Alternating around the edge of this circular bed I used Sprengel’s Sedge Grass, Deschampsia caespidosa and Fescue ‘Beyond Gold’ . The contrasts of textures, lime and dark greens I hope will give the bed enough interest.

Of course all looks pretty sparse at the moment and I may add one more element as I have a hard time with bare soil!