Gardening Etcetera: Neighborhood salad bar — how mule deer can impact your landscape

The penstemons in my front yard were developing flower buds, thrown up on stalks two feet tall. I was anticipating watching bees disappear into their cavernous flowers and hummingbirds bury their long beaks deep into the blossoms. Instead, on one recent morning, I found them chewed off so cleanly, they appeared to have been cauterized. The deer had made their round in the neighborhood. Sheltered amongst our homes from threats, they consume at-will, unbothered and unrepentant.

While they are beloved wildlife and generate significant revenue for the state via hunting tags, deer can be absolute menaces to gardeners and farmers. Ask anyone who has invested a pretty penny and hours of labor in gardens or fields, only to have them decimated overnight.