Great Lakes and Land

I was excited to see my first daffodils in bloom last night. Of course they weren’t in my woodland gardens at Fence Lake… they were in a friend’s garden, which is in a warmer spot here in the Upper Peninsula. Mine are poking out of the ground about 3 to 4 inches. They’re just starting to set some buds. I have been planting about 50 to 100 more daffodil bulbs around the bases of my trees each Fall. The squirrels, chipmunks, and deer leave them alone. Other deer-resistant plants that have worked well for me (here in our Zone 3 – Zone 4) are Amsonia, Bugbane, Butterfly weed, Columbine, Coreopsis, Evening primrose, Globe thistle, Lungwort, Penstemon, Purple coneflower, Russian sage, Thyme and Wild ginger. A quick note: If you need to divide any perennials this Spring, you’ll need to do that soon, before they get more than 4-5 inches high. They’ll suffer less transplant shock if they are still small. Linda 04-18-09