My spouse is building me a large wire-covered enclosure for seed pots in
my ongoing struggle with voles, etc. Actually, he is building two mesh
covers, one for an existing area that is now occupied by 3 stand-alone mesh
sections over pots (4x4 ft), and a new area (3.5 x 8 ft) with a large
cover. I can’t wait. And after this week, I really can’t wait.

In preparation, the protective black deer-deterring mesh was taken down
over pots in another area, and all pots and planters were lifted to
break/cut tree roots that have grown up through the pavers into them. I’ve
learned the hard way to do this by late winter or face much larger roots
growing into pots in spring. I have no illusions about the tree root
problem—it will continue in the new mesh areas, where all pots will have to
be lifted annually so roots can be removed.

While this mesh was down, some larger animal nibbled the side of a
stem—not the top—and left the buds to die, on a pot of Fritillaria
camschatcensis. Annoyed does not begin to describe how I feel about this.
First buds to form, ever, on the pot. Highly likely to be deer from the
delicate nibble on one leaf plus just enough stem to kill the top.

Kathleen
PNW coast, where we have had 3 rounds of false spring/pre-spring/almost
spring, and then back into strafing rain/hail/near snow/snow in March, or
as a friend says, ‘March comes in like a lion here, and leaves like a lion
too.'
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