By Raul654, Creative Commons License, courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Having grown up near a canyon in a city, amaranth seems pretty to my eye, but when it pops up in the middle of a lawn, folks call it pigweed and spray Roundup on it. Deer, moles, and rabbits register to me as wildlife, but If you are a farmer, or an exurbanite who has invested a lot in your plantings, they are pests who will use your garden or crop rows as their personal salad bar.
Having suffered through a bad bout of pantry moths, as well as a spider infestation, I do realize how crazy-making a visit from an unwelcome plant or animal can be, especially when they show up en masse. Unfortunately, at the point of infestation, full-scale war is often the only option. Anyone who's been gardening for a while knows that the smart person does not fill their shed with poison, much less keep a cocked rifle in their truck to shoot deer on sight; a healthy garden or farm will always have bugs, birds, mammals. This is not true in every case, but if you work hard to create the right conditions in your garden, it will be resilient enough to co-exist with pests without getting horribly attacked.
If you are embroiled in full-scale war with your deer though, note this: on Saturday, July 14, Sugar Creek Gardens (1011 Woodlawn, 314-965-3070, sugarcreekgardens.com), is hosting a free workshop, Oh Deer, with tricks and idea for repellents to keep rabbits and deer out of your yard. On July 19, the St. Charles County Extension (260 Brown, 636-970-3000, http://extension.missouri.edu/stcharles/gardenclasses/aspx), teaches the class Controlling Moles in Your Lawn and Garden, including physical techniques and repellents to get rid of those critters. That is not a free class -- it's $15 -- and require pre-registration. Then, on July 21 at 10 a.m., Hillerman Nursery and Florist (601 E. 5th, Washington, Mo., 636-239-6729, hillermann.com), offers a summer class on Deer Resistant Plants, which, as those who are battling deer know, does not include hostas!
