Plants Deer Don't Eat - D and E

Euphorbias are generally not liked because they have a milky sap which tastes bad. It can also cause some skin irritation in a few people, but even with all of my allergies, I've never had a problem with it. This is an odd one called 'Chameleon' and one that self seeds. The leaves are dark green/burgundy and the flowers are at the top of the 2 foot stems early in the season. I like it because it is quite showy, but Hank is less inclined to let the seedlings stay. It seems to be rather un-picky about where it grows.

This Euphorbia is called Cypress Spurge. It is short, has yellow blooms in late spring and will grow in sunny, dry places, though a nicer home will have it looking more lush.

Epimediums don't seem to be eaten by deer, but in late winter, if snow is covering things and the rabbits are hungry, they will eat last year's foliage to the ground. Not really a problem, because new foliage was coming in the spring anyway. Very early spring bloom. It was hard to pick just one of these for the photo. If you want to see all of the flower colors and shapes, even one with very dark chocolate colored leaves, just go to the photo gallery on the website http://www.hootowlhollow.com

This is Eomecon, commonly called Chinese Bloodroot. It spreads by underground runners, and can get a bit out of hand, but it is really easy to weed out if it does move where you don't want it. It has single white flowers on scapes that are just a bit taller than the leaves. If you are weeding it out, be prepared for orange hands if you don't wear gloves as it has typical orange/red sap in the stems and roots. It washes off, but was a bit of a surprise the first time I weeded some out. It will grow in shade or sun, but seems to prefer light shade.

Bleeding Hearts, Dicentra, have always been one of my favorite spring flowers. This one is 'Gold Heart' which has yellow/gold leaves and rosy red flowers. There are also the more common green leaf forms with either red or white flowers. These go dormant after bloom as soon as the weather heats up. Plant in shade.

Dicentra, more commonly known as Pinks, come in all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes. This is a wee tiny one, flowers just about a quarter of an inch across that forms a mat of blue/green foliage and although it blooms heavily in spring, it will bloom sporadically over the summer and fall. Sun or shade and probably a place that isn't too wet, though too dry isn't all that good either.

We spent yesterday weeding and neatening up in the gardens between the showers. It's funny how little unseen hosta seedlings can seemingly overnight become large plants. We probably dug out a dozen yesterday from a section of the garden that hadn't been redone for awhile. They will be replaced by some Iris cristata that will be more in scale with the rest of the plants there. More weeding today - this time thistle that is invading some of the peony beds.

Jane