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None of this overlooks a fourth controlling component, aging in place, me.
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For decades I've had the honor of older women, into their 70's plus, hiring me. Their landscapes must be beautiful, and fully turn key. Tough plants, easily maintained with minimal unskilled labor. Check.
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Back to those original members helping design my new garden, deer, armadillo and the weather: brutal heat, humidity, drought, rains, occasional 0 f, strong winds throughout every season, and, the worst, a freeze in April after weeks of warm days. Check.
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Oddly, with all the constraints, above, (after achieving acceptance) it's easier to create a Garden Design. Fewer choices.
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Southern Indica azaleas will be many of my hedges. Sun/shade, deer resistant, drought tolerant. Better, their height & growth habit, below.
Pic, above, here.
Deer don't bother much with what they cannot see, they keep on walking. Outside my garden, deer will see this, below. Delightfully, more than solving a deer issue the azalea hedging will block views of the street/cars, and create garden rooms, walls.
Pic, above, here.
If deer were the only problem, azalea hedging would be deterrent enough. Armadillo dig for worms/insects with their clawed feet and tapered snout. Around since the dinosaurs, armadillo are not smart in expected ways. Simple wire fencing at ground level guides them away, they won't dig under.
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I fully expect to be the first human to experience the first self aware male armadillo, who tunnels under my wire fencing, releases his pheromones to Pluto, and his harem arrives, delivering their typical 4 identical offspring with each pregnancy.
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Wire fencing, below, will be built, azalea foliage to grow thru, and obfuscate its presence, and armadillo.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Had to include this pic, above, the pruning is amazing. Foliage/blossoms from top to bottom, achieved with pruning tapered, wider at bottom than top. Then, the subtle change in height from left to right, as the Garden Design dictates need.
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Garden & Be Well, XO T
4 comments:
That fence and gate is so sweet; reminds me of Grandmother's, some 50 decades ago. Having dogs means deer don't come into the yard; into the pastures, yes, but not the yard.
Oh delightful!!
No shooting of armadillos!!! YAY!!! And what a gorgeous hedge!!!
Brava!
Azaleas make a beautiful barrier; their beauty in bloom lasts a short time. Loropetalum is another, with twice the bloom power. Gardenias work well for me, too.
Fences are no deterrent to armadillos. Get a Hav a Hart trap. It needs no bait, just set it where an armadillo is suspected to have a run as evidenced by the holes he's dug. Eventually he will wander in.
There is NO trap and release for armadillos. Shoot them on your own property and leave in a far corner for big birds that clean up carrion to take care of for you. We've dispatched dozens.
Oh, and the traps are not sturdy enough to keep a big 'dillo from rendering them unable to hold a critter. Reinforcements are necessary. We bent an electric fence post into a shape to make the door sturdy and added a sheet metal piece to the top.
Oh dear God; I believe there is another way!
I say you try the fence you described.....how long does this fence need to be? I think many people just don't try it...and shoot these poor mammals.....it makes me sick. I am so proud of you for trying. "dispatch" (for those who don't know" means "kill"! I guess it sounds better. Until you translate it. I honestly think your fence will work. (can you find old fences that look like that charming fence?)
I saw some today in Atherton! Ca!!
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