FOR: Neem seed meal to treat orange aphids, bulk organic fertilizers and soil additives, egg meal (to make a deer deterrent), lots of plants for pollinators, good advice.

In early October, I’m monitoring larvae in all stages on the narrow-leaf milkweed that grows in several large stands on my property. But Monarchs are not the only regal presence on my hillside; it’s the rutting season and a number of very handsome bucks have made themselves visible again. It’s almost comical the way they follow behind the does, their powerful necks outstretched, upper lip curled back to “taste” the smell of a particular doe—all of whom seem to do their best to ignore or avoid them. I imagine it’s tiring, too, and on one afternoon recently, a huge, white-faced buck lay down for a rest under a blue oak not twenty feet away from where I was busy potting up plants; what a treat for me!

The buck’s lip curling reveals a special receptor on the top of the palate (called the Jacobson’s organ) that determines if the doe is in estrus and receptive to mating. The buck’s antlers at this point are smooth and formidable, all the velvet has been rubbed off, and it’s this process that can cause a lot of damage in a garden.

As the mating season approaches, the antlers are fully developed and the velvet (a soft, moss-like skin that nourished the growing antlers) has done its job. Apparently the velvet, as it peels off, is itchy and uncomfortable, like peeling sunburnt skin, so the bucks like to rub on all sorts of things to hasten the shedding. One favored rub is willows, and it’s quite possible that the salicylic acid (an active metabolite of aspirin) contained in the willow bark provides some temporary pain relief.

Antlers are solid bone, grown and discarded every year. The antlers are the fastest growing normal cells of any mammalian tissue, and growing a new set requires a lot of resources early in spring. Co-evolution is displayed in yet another wonderful association between plants and animals; ceanothus species put on a lot of new growth in early spring. This new growth is very high in calcium and thereby provides the perfect browse for the bucks growing their antlers! And, as the deer browse the plant, enzymes in their saliva act as a hormone, spurring on even more new growth!

But during the rut, the bucks will use whatever is around so it is important, especially with young trees, to leave some caging around the trunks. The bucks also like to show off by just ripping up other shrubs; coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) is one that is often damaged on my hillside, but they are easily pruned back to the base, with fresh new growth, and often a better form, developing during the rainy season.

I’ve protected certain mature shrubs that aren’t so easily salvaged, and deterred the deer by planting really bad smelling plants next to them. A non-native shrub, Mexican marigold (Tagetes lemonnii) with lovely orangey flowers but stinky foliage, works well to protect a beautiful Mexican salvia (Salvia melissadora) from the ravages of the rut. This salvia produces small lavender blooms almost non-stop throughout the year, and is beautiful contrasted with the bright orangey blooms of the marigold. These plants grow in a border along with shrubby buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) goldenrods and grindelia—all fall bloomers. These plants bring in the butterflies: hundreds of skippers, painted ladies, buckeyes, field crescents, and even monarchs come to nectar at the flowers. October is one of the best months for high populations of butterflies in Marin.

It’s a beautiful thing to watch the deer, a number of the does heavily pregnant, browsing at the meadow’s edge, and not at all disturbed by the rainfall. They’re eating the clovers and vetches in the grasslands, taking the leaves from the soap lilies and blue dicks, and sometimes also just the tips of the fresh new growth on the annual grasses; but never eating the ground iris, or the thistles that also grow in the meadow. They’re also browsing the lush new leafy growth and the male catkins of the coast live oaks. The larvae of two butterflies, the California Sister and the Mournful Duskywing, both common in an oak woodland, also feed on these fine new leaves before they get too leathery.

When they wander into my garden the deer are nibbling on the Elegant Madia seedlings, but far from killing the plants, this light pruning helps to promote even lusher plants that will be full of flowers late into the summer and fall months. There are lots of other plants in my garden, providing resources for a host of insects and birds that the deer totally ignore.

Salvias; beautiful and deer-proof, month by month

The native Salvia bloom cycle starts here in my Novato garden in February each year; Brandege Sage (Salvia brandegei) is usually first with lovely white-lavender flowers. A selection ‘Pacific Blue’ is relatively new in the trade; it seems to stay shorter and more compact, and the flowers are more bluish than lavender. My Brandege Sage, now about seven years old in my garden, has been pruned a bit to show the beautifully twisted trunk, and to keep it to about 6 feet in height and width.

Next to bloom, usually in March, is Purple Sage (Salvia leucophylla), with stunning silvery foliage, and flowers that are actually pink, and numerous, growing in whorls up a stem. ‘Pt. Sal’ is a selection that grows about 2 to 3 feet high, and in my garden, one plant covers an area of about 8 square feet. It’s a wonder to see the birds, especially the ground-feeders, like the Towhees and other Sparrows simply disappear into the plant, or suddenly pop up out of the plant! Pt. Sal always seems to bloom before ‘Figueroa’, an upright growing selection of this salvia, which keeps a nice form of about 3 feet wide by about 5 feet tall.

Locally occurring Salvias

In April, Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) starts to flower; lots of little white flowers in whorls that the bees go crazy for. There are two selections; an upright form, and ‘Terra Seca’ a groundcover that spreads slowly, staying about 2 feet high. This is one Salvia that does occur naturally in Marin, though with a very limited range. I am thrilled to have recently procured a local specimen to include it in my garden.

Another salvia with a fairly local natural range is Sonoma Sage (S. sonomensis). Sometimes also called creeping sage, it stays low, no more than twelve to fifteen inches high when in bloom, and over time will grow to form a large mat. It does best in rather poor soils but with really good drainage, and actually prefers a bit of shade. Mine is planted on a steep slope, with high shade from nearby oaks; it gets no water in the summer months, but greens up nicely after just the first week or so of rain. ‘Dara’s Choice’ is thought to be a hybrid of S. sonomensis and S. mellifera; it grows taller, to about two feet, and has more of a mounding habit rather than forming a mat.

I often find salvia seedlings occurring in the garden; if at all possible I leave them in place, otherwise, I pot them up separately, tag them with a date and specific location, and will grow them on to see if a noteworthy plant develops. White Sage (Salvia apiana) seeds itself around all over my garden and at the edges of the pathways, where I can usually just let it grow to maturity. As the specific name indicates, the flowers of this salvia, though small and white, are loved by the bees; and though individual flowers are small, the overall effect is impressive with flowering stalks that can be seven feet tall!

Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii) and several selections and cultivars all bloom in May; and permeate the air with a delicious perfume. I grow the species, which over the course of six or seven years have developed beautifully twisted and gnarled trunks; some as large as three to four inches in diameter. The flowers are lilac blue, almost a periwinkle blue, and attract all sorts of bees and the hummingbirds. ‘Winnifred Gilman’ is a selection that stays more compact, usually no more than three feet in height, and bears intensely purplish flowers. I recently planted a drift of ‘Pozo Blue’; thought to be a hybrid between Salvia clevelandii and S. leucophylla; in and amongst this drift I planted Ceanothus ‘Dark Star’; the salvia protects it from too much deer browsing until it is well established.

Leaf shape, size and texture can make a difference

The leaves of Ceanothus ‘Dark Star’ are tiny, as are those of C. impressus, C. maritimus, and C. hearstiorum; I use the leaf size as a rule of thumb when selecting Ceanothus to grow in areas exposed to the deer. The larger the leaf, the more likely they will be ‘deer food’; and there’s good reason for that. The new growth of Ceanothus is about 14% protein and abundant in calcium, which are nutrients that the deer, and especially the bucks, need because they’re growing new antlers each year. Antlers are the fastest growing of all normal animal tissues!

The Ceanothus species, such as C. gloriosus, along with the various selections and varieties of that species that bear the stiff, leathery, and spined, holly-like leaves are all a good bet in plantings exposed to the deer. A lovely shrub, Berberis nevinii, now rare in the wild, also has this type of leaf, and is so deer proof that I plant out new specimens without any protection at all. Nevin’s Barberry starts blooming in February, and the masses of little yellow flowers contrast very nicely with salvias and ceanothus. Lots of red berries develop by June, making it one of the earliest food sources available for fruit eating species of birds.

Leaves that are tiny, such as the almost thread-like leaves of California Sage (Artemesia californica) help minimize water loss; these leaves are also aromatic, and the deer do not browse this shrub. Monkeyflower and California Sage often grow together, and sometimes, in shadier sites, California Bee plant is another companion plant. With leaves that the deer will often browse, the more successful specimens are growing in the midst of large stands of Monkeyflower and California Sage.

More aromatic plants that the deer leave alone

Other California native plants that the deer have no interest in are also native mint family (Lamiaceae) members; some, like the Lepechinias, are often called ‘pitcher sages’ but they are not salvias, though the leaves are deliciously aromatic. The flowers are in spikes, not whorls, and the fruits that form are also in a different form than true ‘sages’.  Lepechinia calycina grows on Mt. Tamalpais; it is a small woody shrub that bears white flowers. The shrub is so drought tolerant, that it has literally looked almost dead for the last two years, but greened up immediately when rainfall became measurable. Lepechinia fragrans is native to the Channel Islands; it has a larger, well-branched and almost sprawling form. ‘El’ Tigre’ bears flowers that have a lilac tinge, and this pitcher sage is quite happy with light shade under the oaks.

Common Coyote Mint (Monardella villosa) is a gorgeous small shrub for hot sunny areas with good drainage. It is covered with dense heads of deep lilac flowers in summer. Skullcaps (Scutellaria species) also grow in sunny areas, some species are clump-forming perennials; and though the foliage is not very aromatic, the deer leave them alone! Scutellaria californica, with white flowers, is more of a spreader; it will take some hot sun, but also seeks out cooler, lightly shady situations ‘under the skirts’ of nearby shrubs. My patch has established very nicely in and between a head stone edging at one border. Yerba Buena (Satureja douglassii) is also a creeper, but for dry shady places; perfect under native oaks, where it does fine without any summer water. Picked while green, the leaves make a delicious mint tea!

Poisonous plants

Other obvious deer proof plants are those that are poisonous, like the milkweeds (Asclepias spp), Datura and Solanums. My garden includes large drifts of two native milkweeds, specifically planted to support the larvae of the Monarch butterfly; these are not plants for a gardener who wants total control; the best, most vigorous specimens  grow where they want to be!

Another plant that resists control by any gardener is one of our native thistles, the Cobweb Thistle (Cirsium occidentale). It seeds itself where it wants to grow, sometimes in full sun, sometimes in part shade, and provides for the larvae of the Mylitta Crescent and Painted Lady butterflies. Goldfinches also rely on the thistles, both for seed and the downy chaff to line their little grass-cup nests. It’s a gorgeous plant, and not at all invasive; consider yourself lucky if it likes your garden!

Goldenrods (Solidago spp.) and Iris (I.  douglasiana and hybrids, and I. macrosiphon) are also deer proof, though I’m not sure exactly why. ‘My deer’ also leave Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor) alone until very late in the fall, when they might nibble a little bit on some of the leaves. But the plants that deer prefer, or not, can often vary by neighborhoods, particularly really urban ones. The small family groups often live their whole lives within a home range; and feeding preferences do develop within that range. It pays to look around, notice which natives have successfully established in neighborhood gardens, and also to see what is growing in the wild lands close to your garden.

I protect many plants until they establish with various methods already described, and in addition I’ll sometimes create invisible foils; like heavy duty fishing line strung between plants and poles within areas of my border plantings. The deer can’t see the line, but they can certainly feel it, and that’s enough to scare them off.  Over time mature shrubs growing together, especially on slopes, create their own barriers against the deer; and when the garden mimics nature, they are often more content to stay in the wilder areas!

Now that fall is soon upon us, and hopefully the rainy season as well, the time is perfect to plant California natives.  Many gardeners have issues and great frustration with the deer interfering with their planting plans. I happen to love and respect these animals, and from personal experience know that it is possible to create a beautiful native garden despite the presence of deer. You can have it all; a wonderful habitat rich in natural resources, complete with the native wildlife; your own zoological parkland !

I’ve summarized some simple steps for success below; if you care to know a lot more about the Columbian Black-tailed deer that live throughout the Bay Area, read my “Gardening in Deer Country’ essays in Home Ground’s resources pages.

GETTING FAMILIAR WITH YOUR GARDEN ZONE

1 –Familiarize yourself with native plants that grow wild in areas close to your home by participating in naturalist’s led hikes.

2 – Go to https://calscape.org/, where visitors can enter their street address to get a list of native plants that are most appropriate for your locale.

3 – Look around your neighborhood to see which native plants are growing well in other gardens exposed to ‘your’ deer.

Gardens that mimic nature (dry in summer) are not as enticing to the deer, and adding new plants to your garden only during the rainy season when there’s plenty of other greens for the deer to browse, allows your new plants to establish in the best of conditions, and without a lot of interference.

Deer are browsers, not Grazers; They are ruminants with 4 stomachs, special enzymes in their salvia, and mutualistic bacteria in their digestive systems that allow them to fulfill many of their nutrional needs by eating plants and mast high in tannic acids, such as the native oaks and acorns.

Deer live in small family groups, usually comprised of does with their female offspring, and live their lives within sometimes small natal territories. There are indeed ‘neighborhood deer’ and sometimes these deer have developed specialized tastes in the browse they prefer!  

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DEER FOOD

Oak trees are a major food source for the deer; providing up to 40% of all their needs from leaves and twigs in summer; and in the early fall, when the acorns start to drop, about 50% their food intake.

When deer look like they are grazing in a meadow, they are actually eating broad-leaved plants that grow in amongst grasses, and sometimes also the tip growth of new grasses. Their diet consists of shoots and young leaves, soft twigs, flowers, fruits and seed capsules, fungus, lichens and mistletoes.

Ceanothus  is a very important browse plant for the deer; the new spring growth is about 14% protein, and also abundant in calcium; providing exactly the nutrients necessary to grow new antlers each year.

SEASONAL BROWSING

Ceanothus species – easiest to establish in deer country are the species with very small or leathery leaves, and those with spiny edges. Plants that grow low to the ground are also often of less interest to the deer. Silk Tassel Bush, Cream Bush, Sticky Monkeyflower, and California Bee Plant are only of seasonal interest to the deer. The new leafy growth  CA poppies, Elegant Madia, and Soap Lilies are browsed for a short period of time without permanent damage to the plant.

COMPLETELY DEER PROOF

Aromatic plants – most native Salvias, esp Hummingbird Sage, which can help protect more vulnerable plants – and most Mint family plants –

Poisonous plants – Milkweeds, Buttercups, California Pipevine, native Solanums, Sacred Datura, Spice Bush

Aloes, Agaves and Yuccas,  and Bear Grass

NO PROTECTION NEEDED

Bunch grasses; Calamagrostis, Festuca, Muhlenbergia, Melica,

Nassella (Stipa)  spp.; Sedges; Carex spp.; Rushes; Juncus spp.  

Shrubs; Coyote Brush, Barberries, California Sage ( Artemesia ), Pitcher Sages (Lepechinia spp.),  Coyote Mint, Skunk Bush, Desert Willow, California Honeysuckle, California Rose,  Bladderpod

Perennials; Gum Plant, Skulllcaps, native Thistles, Blue-eyed Grass, Yellow-eyed Grass, Yerba Buena, Lilac Verbena, Matilija Poppy, Goldenrod, many of the CA. Fuchsias

Wildflowers – Globe Gilia, Blue Flax, Tarweeds, Milkmaids, some Clarkias, and most Phacelias

These are deer-proof in most gardens – Douglas Iris and the Pacific Coast hybrids, Ground Iris, Goldenrod, Yarrow, Seaside Daisy, and Coast Aster

PROTECT TO ESTABLISH – these plants can withstand browsing once the plant is established and has enough mass

Shrubs – California Bush Anenome, Lemonade Berry, Sugar Bush, Coffeeberry, Cream Bush, Currants, Gooseberries, Mt. Mahogany

Shrubby Buckwheat, St. Catherine’s Lace, Small-leaved Buckwheat, Silk Tassel Bush, Redbud, Quail Bush, Toyon, Elderberry, Snowberry,

Manzanitas

Perennials – Penstemons, Ca Fuchsia

All trees – also protect the trunks from damage during the rut – Holly-leaf and Catalina Cherry, Pines, California Bay, Redwoods 

WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR PLANTS

1 – cage your plants when you first plant them out; most shrubs need a wire cage about 4 ft high

2 –  4 “ plants should be covered with a lower cage that also has a top to it

3 – use an egg meal spray on the plants to deter nibbling; this has to be renewed each time water washes it off

4 – use human hair clippings around new plants

5 – sprinkle bloodmeal around new plants

6 – create invisible ‘hazards’ by stringing heavy-duty fishline within your planted borders

7 – mature shrubs, growing close together and mingling one into the other, especially on a slope, create their own deer barriers; really aromatic plants can be planted to protect other more desirable species

A Paradise ruled by Queen Calafia

Two major human caused environmental disasters drastically changed the natural world of a land that was long ago described as a mythical island; a terrestrial paradise ruled by a statuesque and beautiful queen named Calafia.

The first major changes came with the Spanish missionaries who first brought European livestock into California, along with an accompanying host of European annual grasses and forbs. The additional grazing herds were the beginning of tremendous pressure put on our native ruminants, and resulted in permanent changes in the ecology of native grasslands and oak savannahs.

The second disaster occurred with the Gold Rush; when from 1849 to 1855, the largest mass migration in American history caused an explosion in the human population within the state. In that short period of time the population of California increased by nearly twenty-five times, creating environmental havoc, along with an exploitation and degradation of natural resources that dramatically changed the natural environment of the entire state.

Vast herds of Tule Elk; so easily slaughtered while grazing in open areas throughout the great Central Valley, were nearly exterminated; infamously reduced to a mere eight or ten individuals before major efforts were made to save the species. Huge flocks of quail, enormous clouds of seabirds, trout and salmon crowding upstream were also vastly reduced in numbers to support the growing population.

Elk, deer, and antelope were often killed just for their hides, which came to be known as California ‘banknotes’. One firm in San Francisco, in just one year shipped out more than 40, 000 hides. The tanning industry nearly wiped out the Tan Oaks, and all this growth and industry was largely fueled by oak trees felled for firewood.

Deer and California Oaks; a special relationship

Oak trees in many cultures around the world symbolize fertility, strength, and symbiosis with the earth; in California the oak woodlands were the refuge that helped save our native deer populations. The Columbian black-tailed deer, because they lived in small family groups rather than large herds, withstood the human onslaught a little better than the elk. But even so, it was decades before their populations recovered, and by then the species had adapted by changing their behavioral patterns, and retreating further into the forests.

The oak woodlands provided protected corridors for travel and migration routes, and the understory shrubs associated with the oaks created protective thickets for young animals, and hiding places from predators. The leafy canopies of the oaks moderate light, temperature, moisture, and wind; providing shelter for the deer during the rainy season, and relief during the heat of summer.

Oaks are the major summer browse for the deer, with leaf and twigs providing up to 40% of their diet. It’s easy to see the ‘browse line’ on older trees, and young oaks often develop a browsed ‘skirt’ before the sapling is able to put on some height. The mistletoe and lichens so often associated with oaks are a source of crude proteins for the deer; but once the acorns drop, usually starting in August; they become the single most important food source for the deer. The size of the mast crop in the fall has been directly linked to the reproductive success of the species in the following year.

It has been estimated that one adult deer will eat about 300 acorns a day, making up more than half their daily food intake. The acorns are a rich food source; with 18% fat, 6% protein, and 68% carbohydrates, plus water and fiber, minerals, amino acids, and vitamins A and C. Acorns are high in tannins, but deer have special enzymes in their saliva that bind to these tannins before the acorns are swallowed, and still more enzymes in their digestive tracts that function to break down the fats and proteins, and allow the animals to accumulate a fatty layer that provides both insulation and energy.

A Natural Pattern of Movement

On my hillside I can observe many of these natural patterns of behavior; the small family groups of deer that spend some of the daylight hours during the dry season foraging in the moister floodplains surrounding Novato Creek, and then travel up through the leafy ravines at dusk to forage on the oaks. I don’t often see the full grown bucks until after the acorns drop; but then these magnificent creatures are right here, next to our house picking up the acorns.

In my garden, situated next to unfenced oak woodlands, there is actually less pressure on the introduced plantings than in many more urban areas with fewer oaks and much more fencing, which restricts and crowds the deer populations. Since much of my garden is as dry as the surrounding woodlands in the summer months, the deer are not terribly interested; and I rarely plant anything new except during the rainy season.

Under the oak canopies I always plant without any intention of providing long term  irrigation. I will often sheet mulch the area a year ahead, and sometimes lay down a soaker hose for initial moisture. When I do plant I install DriWater canisters with each shrub. This product is a food-grade gel that is 98% water, and provides a source of moisture for about two months during the dry season. That’s when microbial activity in the soil makes the reservoir of water available directly to the root system. Within two to three summers I remove the canisters, backfill with the native soil, and the plants are now ‘on their own’.

Good shrubs to plant in a dry oak understory are Coffeeberry (Frangula californica), Cream Bush (Holodiscus discolor), and Golden Currant (Ribes aureum). At the edges of the canopy, where the light is a bit brighter I plant Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis var. consanguinea), Mt. Mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides) and Shrubby Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). These are all plants that can withstand a bit of deer browsing once they have fully established and increased considerably in size.

Some Protective Measures

The deer seem aware of changes, and are often just curious, so they notice and sometimes try new plants. Since they have no upper incisors, but an almost prehensile tongue and a ‘pad’ in the upper jaw against which to work the lower incisors; they tear off vegetation. It’s this tearing motion that is most damaging to new plants, especially small ones that can be pulled right out of the ground, and left with the whole root system exposed.

When I do plant something new, especially if it’s a small plant I will protect it until it has had time to establish a good root system. I use dried egg meal, mixed with water and a spoonful of vegetable oil as the surfactant to make a really stinky spray that deters the deer from nibbling on a plant. I have also sprinkled human hair clippings all around a new plant, or applied bloodmeal. These deterrents have to be renewed and inter-changed regularly or the deer become accustomed to them. Hair clippings are sometimes hard to get in large enough quantities, and bloodmeal is too high in nitrogen to be used on native plantings very often.

When I plant out native shrubs that can withstand a bit of deer browsing once they are larger and well established, I put a wire cage around each one. I like to use welded wire fencing with a green plastic coating so that it nearly fades out from view. When the wire is carefully cut all along one edge of welded joins, you have an edge with straight bits of wire that can easily be folded over an opposite welded corner to create a round cage. I’ve found that a three to four foot high cage is sufficient, and in most cases securing the bottoms with five or six earth staples will keep them in place for years. In extreme situations the wire cage can be secured to lengths of rebar hammered into the ground.

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a favorite browse plant on my hillside; the only ones that have survived naturally in the wild spaces have become trees; one specimen has a trunk of about six inches in diameter, and a height of about thirty feet. I tend to leave the cages on my Toyon for quite a few years!

Golden Currant (Ribes aureum) with its smooth delicate leaves is another shrub that the deer sometimes like to browse; I got a drift of these beautiful shrubs established with the aid of DriWater and cages. In addition I planted lots of Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea) all around the edges and in between each shrub. By the time I removed the individual cages from each shrub, the salvia had grown in thickly, and spread out quite a lot. These highly aromatic plants, with exceptionally sticky leaves, are despised by the deer; so they now protect the Golden Currant. I planted ‘Avis Keedy’, a yellow-flowering variety of Hummingbird Sage, and a drift of a yellow and maroon Pacific Coast Iris in the same area to create a beautiful little scene under a Coast Live Oak.

 

 

 

For many Californians throughout the state, deer are the largest free-living animals they will commonly encounter; and for anyone with an affinity for the natural world, it’s an impressive thing to realize that these animals are self-sustaining, leading their own lives  and needing nothing from us. But they are also are more than just beautiful creatures to admire; they are in many ways symbolic of a more calm, untroubled, and carefree life outside of the human hive of activities.

I have lived and gardened in ‘deer country’ (Marin County) for decades now; and so often hear other gardeners complain that ‘they can’t grow anything’ because of the deer. Granted, it does make it harder to garden where the free roaming wild animals and especially the deer, are often present. But, many people choose to live here precisely because of the proximity to preserved open spaces; which adds immensely to the charm and sense of tranquility that Marin County is noted for.

Deer are, of course, herbivores, and that can create challenges (and a lack of tranquility) for some California gardeners when they venture into a cultivated landscape! Having experience with gardens in various situations around Marin I’ve had years to observe and study our Columbian black-tailed deer; and decided to write this series of articles because I want people to know that it is possible to create a beautiful garden despite the deer; but first, a gardener has to understand these lovely creatures!

Who are these animals?

Deer are browsers, not grazers, which means that they eat broad-leaved plants; many of which they co-evolved with. Some of these native plants provide essential nutrients that the deer need and the plants actually benefit from intermittent browsing at certain times of the year. Other native plants have developed characteristics, or growth habits, that protect them from deer browsing.

We have three native families within the order Artiodactyla, one of which is the Cervidae, with four native genera of ‘deer’; our elk (Cervus spp.) are actually most closely related to the numerous deer species found throughout Europe and Asia. The animals that we call ‘deer’ form their own genus Odocoileus; and there are just two species in America; the white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) in the east and the mule deer (O. hemionus) in the west. In the Pacific states we have six sub-species of mule deer; the northern coastal range is home to the Columbian black-tailed deer (O.h. columbianus).

These animals are ruminants (cud-chewers) with four-chambered stomachs which, with the aid of mutalistic bacteria in their digestive tract, alow them to turn cellulose into sugars and amino acids by adding nitrogen. As the bacteria die they become available protein to the ruminant. By ruminant standards deer have small unspecialized stomachs, and so rather than eating large quantities of low grade fibrous plants like sheep and cattle do, deer select more easily digestible shoots, young leaves, soft twigs, fruits, fungus, lichens, and mistletoe.  They will often browse in the open, and then retire to the shade and cover of forests to ‘chew their cud’ and allow for the time-consuming process of digestion. 

Where do they live?

Deer are an eco-tone species, living in the transitional zones of forest and meadows; they are not herd animals, though they sometimes form temporary large feeding bands. Mostly they live in small family groups which consist of a doe and her fawns, and older female offspring. Males leave the mother doe at about one year of age and form ‘buck groups’, but are also often solitary. 

Columbian black-tailed deer live most of their lives where they were born; does, especially with young fawns, have ‘activity centers’ within these sometimes small (urban) territories. Bucks weigh, on average, two to three hundred pounds; does are about a hundred and fifty pounds, and newborn fawns are about sixteen to eighteen pounds at birth. A fawn nurses for about two to three months, but starts to forage within a few weeks of birth. Each animal needs about two pounds of food, and two to three quarts of water per hundredweight per day.

So given these parameters of what their needs and basic behaviorial patterns are, it easy to understand the pressures put on gardens in urbanized areas of Marin, and other counties with large, fairly tame populations of black-tailed deer! It is possible to have a nice garden, though it can be challenging and frustrating at times;  I’ll be sharing details on some of the ‘tricks’ I know about to get plants established, and more details about the native plants that I know will grow and thrive despite the deer.

Browsers, not Grazers  

Since they are not grazers, they never eat grasses, or sedges, or rushes; and there are  many beautiful native species to include in a garden setting. Various species of perennial bunchgrasses are members of several different plant communities and habitats; some are ‘cool season’ bloomers, others are ‘warm season’ bloomers. Native grasses occur in many different habitats; from moist, riparian zones, to summer-dry oak woodlands, to open grasslands.

One of my favorites, though it doesn’t grow naturally in Marin is deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens). It is a large scale, warm season grass that is easy to grow and easy to start from seed; it is drought tolerant, great for erosion control on slopes, and impressive when planted in drifts. Apparently the common name derives from the observation that the deer liked to bed down within a drift of these large native grasses.

Seasonal Browsing

Sticky Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus) is a flowering shrub that grows wild in Marin, and also does well under cultivation. The deer browse this plant for just a short while, eating the new spring growth until it starts to get ‘sticky’ with oils. By the time they’re no longer interested in the plant, they have effectively tip-pruned it, and the plant responds by setting even more flowers!

In my garden I’ve noticed that in early spring the deer also nibble at the leaves of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) in early spring. The plants set new leaves, the tap root grows stronger, and soon enough the deer leave it alone, and it sets flowers. Of course, sometimes the deer do eat the flowers ( that’s dessert!) but they don’t eat them all; and the plants can grow and rebloom when cut back by a gardener, too.

Interestingly, the native peoples of California also harvested the new growth of both Sticky Monkeyflower and California poppies to include in their salads of spring greens!

The large orange taproot of the poppies was used for pain relief, especially toothache.

Deer-proof Plants

Salvia species grow all over the world, and many of them have aromatic leaves;

and deer do not eat plants that are highly aromatic! Many of California’s native Salvias grow wild in chaparral, mostly south of Marin, but they all adapt nicely to drought tolerant gardening. Many are large plants at maturity, and very showy in bloom; most need full sun, little to no water once established, and good drainage.

I’ve been a ‘plant-person’ from childhood; and I’ve always loved salvias in particular.

They are showy, and usually easy to grow and propagate, and the humminbirds also love them. I don’t put out feeders for the hummers, but with about fourty-five different species, cultivars, or selections of salvias included in my habitat garden there’s a nectar resource for the resident Anna’s humminbirds all year round!

Food Gardening

Lush, heavily watered fruits and vegetables are of course impossible to grow in deer country without a fence to enclose the garden. Deer really like apples, pears, plums, grapes and strawberries, and eat all parts; leaves, twigs, flowers and fruits. They can stand on their hind legs for short periods of time to browse on trees.

Our family lived in a house in a beautiful little valley with open space all around for about fifteen years. The previous owners had planted several fruit trees out in the open; I’m assuming that they had given the trees some protection to get them established and somewhat out of the reach of the deer. By the time we moved in the trees were producing, though the fruit wasn’t particularly great, and the trees looked very ragged. The deer picked up fallen fruits, but they also noticed that I would shake the tree and bring down more fruits for them. Pretty soon they figured out that they could just wait for me to come home to shake the trees, and they got to know the sound of my car, because as soon as I would pull into the driveway the small family group that lived right around our house would emerge from the back of the house, ready for a tasty snack!

These animals are smarter than one might think!

I’ll go into much more detail on specific plants and protective measures in several subsequent articles.