Gardening With Groundhogs in Massachusetts

Through the summer with groundhog-resistant plants

We ’re visit with Beth Britt today .

I have beengardening on a lilliputian lot(about an 8th of an acre ) in a westerly suburb of Boston for the last 25 years . I had aid my parent and grandparents in theirvegetable gardenswhen I was a kidskin in North Carolina , but I did n’t bang anything about ornamental gardening when my husband and I bought this business firm . Very few of the plants I started with remain , with the exception of severaltrees .

My biggest challenge has been dealing with the grievance ( no exaggeration ! ) of groundhog who live in the Harlan Stone wall behind our house and throughout the neck of the woods . After class of trial run and error , I ’ve now mostly learned which plant they do not eat , although sometimes the newest plus to the groundhog clan will try things that the old generation shunned .

This series of photographs shows a partial thought of my front garden peaking in spring and summer . All the plants in these photographs have proven unpalatable to the groundhogs in my neighborhood .

I plant about 500 tulips in the front garden each year , deal them as annuals . This picture from the middle ofMayshowsMazus reptans(Zones 5–8 ) flower in the lawn . The two low-toned evergreens on either side of the footfall areThuja‘Mr . Bowling Ball ’ ( zone 3–7 ) .

And here ’s the front garden in belated May . The genius of previous May isViburnumplicatum‘Summer Snowflake ’ ( Zones 5–8 ) , which I ’ve trained as a tree . I planted it in 2009 . At its invertebrate foot you could see the early dark foliage ofContinus coggygria‘Velveteeny ’ ( zone 5–8 ) . On the left treillage isClematis‘Elsa Spaeth ’ ( zone 4–11 ) . Lady ’s mantle(Alchemillamollis , Zones 3–8 ) , daylilies(Hemerocallishybrids , Zones 4–9 ) , catmint(Nepetasp . , Zones 5–9 ) , peonies(Paeoniahybrids , Zones 3–8 ) , lamb ’s ear(Stachysbyzantina , Zones 4–8),Heuchera(Zones 4–9),Sedum , andGeraniumare leafing out ; groundhogs do not eat them ! Overhead are a few leaves of a Constellation dogwood(Cornus× rutgersensis , Zones 5–10 ) .

Here is the garden in early June . One of my earliest mistakes was set peonies(Paeoniahybrids , Zones 3–8 ) with footling perfume , as I did n’t pull in yet how gardening in a minor blank demands that every plant do double or triple duty . I total the beautifullyfragrant‘Sarah Bernhardt ’ peony a couplet of years ago ( middle of the pic ) . To the far left is ‘ Kansas ’ peony , and to the far right is ‘ Kelway ’s Glorious ’ peony;Allium‘Gladiator ’ ( zone 4–7 ) is in the foreground . Lady ’s mantle , Nepeta cataria , andPenstemon‘Husker Red ’ ( zone 3–8 ) are also in bloom .

recent June is the time for ‘ Happy Returns ’ day lily , Monarda‘Bee - You Bee - Free ’ ( zone 5–9),Rozanne geranium(Geranium‘Gerwat’(Zones 5–8 ) , and self - seeding rose campion(Lychniscoronaria , Zones 4–8 ) . Blue grama grass ‘ Blonde Ambition’(Boutelouagracilis‘Blonde Ambition ’ , Zones 3–10 ) is in a pot .

In mid - July , more daylilies ( ‘ Jolyene Nichole ’ and ‘ Strutter ’s Ball ’ ) come , along with ‘ Becky ’ Shasta daisy(Leucanthemum× superbum‘Becky ’ , Zones 5–9 ) and ‘ Miss Manners ’ obedient plant(Physostegiavirginiana‘Miss mode ’ , Zones 3–9 ) . I did n’t notice at the fourth dimension I read the photograph that a birch rod tree across the street is reflected in the front room access . How ’s that for a borrowed view ?

Viburnum‘Summer Snowflake ’

Paeonia‘Kansas , withIris‘Caesar ’s Brother ’ ( Zones 3–8 ) andClematis‘Elsa Spaeth ’

Paeonia‘Sarah Bernhardt ’

I just memorize the Hildene Star method of supporting peonies , designate here onPaeonia‘Kelway ’s Glorious ’ , with hakone grass(Hakonechloamacra , Zones 5–9 ) andAllium‘Gladiator ’ in the backcloth .

Monarda‘Bee - You Bee - Free ’ with ‘ Miss Manners ’ obedient plant , Geranium‘Rozanne ’ , andCotinus‘Velveteeny ’

Daylily ‘ Jolyene Nichole ’

This deck plantation owner contains begonias(Begoniahybrid , Zones 10–11 or as an annual),coleus(Coleus scutellaroides , Zones 9–11 or as an yearly ) , salvia(Salviaguaranitica , Zones 7–11 or as an one-year ) , andCuphea‘Vermillionaire ’ ( Zones 8–11 or as an annual ) . Next to it isClematis‘Arctic Queen ’ ( zone 4–9 ) .

Have photos to share ? We ’d eff to see your garden , a special compendium of plant life you have a go at it , or a grand garden you had the chance to visit !

To submit , send 5 - 10 photos to[email protected]along with some selective information about the plants in the delineation and where you take in the photos . We ’d love to hear where you are located , how long you ’ve been gardening , successes you are proud of , failures you see from , hopes for the hereafter , pet industrial plant , or shady stories from your garden .

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