Bunnies, Bunnies Everywhere!

You may think they are cute, furry, innocent creatures of the garden and park romping in the clover.  You are wrong.  Rabbits are pure evil.  These baby-making machines have been after my plants since day one.  They are sneaky, treacherous, and always always hungry.

It's time to start caging my shrubs from the little bastards.  I have learned painful lessons that if my precious witchhazel, viburnum, and serviceberry aren't protected, it's a massacre.  During the growing season, I've found that granular repellents work best, especially those formulated with predator urine.  The nice added benefit is that the granulated fox urine has attracted the occasional fox to clean out the voles and the bunnies. We are excited that a new small flock of crows has taken residence after losing so many to West Nile.  Crows prey on baby bunnnies.  I'm a big fan of crows.

Rabbit damage is characterized by sharp clean cuts in twigs smaller than a pencil.  They will also nibble tender thin bark.  This year, the new tree form cutleaf lilac will get brown paper tree wrap for just that reason.

My baby bottlebrush buckeye is going to live in a cage probably for at least a couple of years.

No, you can't have the tomatoes.  Now, shoo!