oh deer - here we go again!!!

this past winter i wrote this post about the deer and their destructive little ways.......

well - it looks like they've struck again. 

for years we've planted a variety of plants along this walkway leading onto our back patio...and nothing has survived.  year after year we plant - then rip out - then try something new.  until finally - we have a walkway lined with roses and clematis and some other bush i've forgotten the name of......and its pretty and inviting...

but i guess its a little too inviting

esp for the deer that frequently walk our property

because at the end of this walkway - before stepping onto the patio - are 2 planters

which, at this time of the year, are normally filled with beautiful flowers - some standing upright and tall

and others cascading over the edges

a cheerful welcome to our guests............

but not this year.....

the other morning i walked outside and around my house to look at all the flowers and see how things are growing

and to take note of what new blooms have appeared

and instead i find this

and this

and also this

and b/c they obviously weren't enough

the deer strolled onto the patio and nibbled on these too

i must say i am happy i didn't actually PAY for these flowers.  some were given to me by my mil (her first attempt at growing flowers from seed in her new greenhouse) and the others were free seedlings from our csa.  had i paid for them i would have probably been less non-chalant about the situation

....so that's a good thing

for the deer's sake that is 

because unlike the pretty wreaths i made at christmas time last year - the only thing i'll be making from these flowers............

is compost