Calla 'Plum Pretty'

I took this picture yesterday of Calla 'Plum Pretty'. I hate to admit it, but I'm pretty impressed that I have gotten it to grow and bloom. I had tried them a number of times over the years, planted them out in the garden and had them up and die on me. Last summer I was again seduced by one of these and brought this one home. I kept it potted up and figured I'd just enjoy it. As I hate to let things die at the end of the season (this one only cost me $1.50 so it was cheaper than some of the annuals at Lowes so the money wasn't exactly an issue) I took the pot into the greenhouse and just set it in a back corner and let it go dormant. I ignored it all winter and in the spring I started watering it again to see if it would come out of dormancy. It wasn't quick, but eventually it reappeared, quite a bit larger than before, so I repotted it and set it outside where it now has two bloom. Needless to say I am quite pleased.

On a less lovely note, this also greeted me yesterday - deer damage in the gardens at Lake Amanda. This one was Hosta 'St. Elmo's Fire'. I thought since the neighbors collectively shot 11 of them last fall and the woods are lush this year with all of the rain, that the deer damage would be much less. I guess I was wrong. I have been spreading milorganite around which has helped somewhat for some people and seems to keep rabbits at bay, but no so much the deer, even though some people have reported it does. Guess our deer didn't hear about it. I will be spraying Liquid Fence this morning and starting to lace monofilament fishing line through the beds to keep them out. I used the fishing line around the ponds last year and it worked pretty well. They don't see it but run into it and so back off.

Wish me luck.

Hosta 'Fort Knox', with lovely gold leaves, also became salad. They will recover and not have problems, but it sure makes the garden look a mess right now.

Jane