tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post2813671391927942335..comments2024-03-24T06:10:25.358-07:00Comments on Noel's Garden Blog: Suburbia, red in tooth and claw Noel Kingsburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443137231998907024noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-42336627409135229862013-04-09T01:24:05.146-07:002013-04-09T01:24:05.146-07:00Probably the major wildlife problem in Australia (...Probably the major wildlife problem in Australia (where coincidentally i live) is the possum. They are hungry little critters.Alex Krasovskishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11326055469934486791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-4134132404089880242013-04-02T06:41:57.630-07:002013-04-02T06:41:57.630-07:00Thank you for this post. Things are starting to ch...Thank you for this post. Things are starting to change, but very, very slowly. I think the chemical companies and their advertising are still part of the problem. The idea that we are in constant combat with nature is disheartening, but people are curious about reducing lawns and other monochromatic schemes. I so enjoyed your post.~~DeeDee/reddirtramblingshttp://www.reddirtramblings.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-5040619602862792962013-03-31T08:20:10.082-07:002013-03-31T08:20:10.082-07:00When it comes to my front-yard vegetable garden, I...When it comes to my front-yard vegetable garden, I feel less than dewy-eyed about Bambi and his little toady-friend, Thumper. Still, I understand about balance in nature; we put out food for the local foxes, raccoons, feral cats and possums, whose presence keep deer and bunny browsing to acceptable levels.<br /> And you are so right about the depressing preponderance of meatball-bushes and mulch. At base, it's most likely a control issue. Americans working in groups have a frightening tendency to develop megalomania.Kathy Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145577877807197103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-91551788472750311582013-03-28T10:13:56.921-07:002013-03-28T10:13:56.921-07:00Great post. I live in an inner ring suburb of Chic...Great post. I live in an inner ring suburb of Chicago. Our wildlife is often sometimes a pleasure, especially the birds, and occasionally a nuisance, especially the skunks and rabbits. Wildlife has not had a big negative impact on our gardening because, thank God, we have no deer in this area. Nearby, however, they are a scourge. There is a small nature preserve that has been terribly damaged by deer overpopulation. Even the most modest attempts to control the deer are met with hysterical opposition. It is odd that city people are much more sentimental about animals than farm or country people. I suspect this is in part because city people have less contact with animals and have more romantic, and anthropomorphic, notions of what animals are like.<br /><br />A big part of the problem, of course, is that there is a lack of predators. And some of the same people who get upset about harming the "good" deer are also determined to keep out the "bad" coyotes. Jasonhttp://gardeninacity.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-44900500215461714712013-03-28T08:09:33.292-07:002013-03-28T08:09:33.292-07:00Thank you for this brilliant post! I abhor those m...Thank you for this brilliant post! I abhor those meatball shrubs and all that mulch and lawn. My home state of Michigan is probably amongst the worst parts of the country in that regard. Maybe because of all that abusive and dead - both in terms of imagination and ecology - landscaping I relish the vigor with which our wildlife takes over wherever it is given a chance. I have even come to be relatively at peace with the deer, although they come to the family garden in the Detroit suburbs a dozen at a time to nibble on lily buds and the twigs of young trees. I understand the ecological need for reducing deer numbers - and at least in Michigan deer hunting continues to be an extremely common past time - but at the level of my neighborhood I am ok with giving up a lily or hydrangea here and there for the pastoral fantasy of the occasional strolling herd of deer.Nichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07291223943168030684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-40467734341656454662013-03-28T07:05:26.750-07:002013-03-28T07:05:26.750-07:00Quite an interesting point of view! Good post!Quite an interesting point of view! Good post!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05481303503210630788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-89992744569654171152013-03-28T00:53:17.789-07:002013-03-28T00:53:17.789-07:00I wouldnt say wildlife in the garden isnt a proble...I wouldnt say wildlife in the garden isnt a problem here in the UK. I live in Malvern on the edge of a housing estate and this year have had to endure a badger rampaging around the garden digging up all the tulip bulbs. This isnt because he cant find food elsewhere, there is a golf course nearby surrounded by woodland where no doubt the badger lives but instead he has burrowed under our fence and trashed the garden. So I completely sympathise with the US gardens struggling with deer etc.<br /><br />It is interesting reading US gardening blogs how many of them are surrounded by large trees and what appears to be forest. I suppose we are such a heavily populated island that any cleared land doesnt really get a chance to be re-forested. It is also interesting to watch the US's obsession with bland dull landscaping and I particularly enjoy the articles on garden rant along these lines<br /><br /><br />Helen/patientgardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02164036792673009326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-68316027203141658112013-03-27T21:31:37.936-07:002013-03-27T21:31:37.936-07:00Over the puddle, the predators aren't gone, bu...Over the puddle, the predators aren't gone, but people keep trying to shoot them instead of the deer... I spent tonight listening to a pack of coyote/wolf mix singing, but also worrying that the locals at the event I was attending would come back to kill them. The warm winters have made it hard to find and hunt the deer, so the hunters think the problem is the 4 legged predators(who admittedly can be a problem for dogs). balsamfirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12347379810451503618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223294603002782762.post-49678540444617051662013-03-27T13:42:13.658-07:002013-03-27T13:42:13.658-07:00Wonderful post, Noel! I live in the middle of a me...Wonderful post, Noel! I live in the middle of a megalopolis of nearly 4 million people: I have had up to 3 very large mule deer in my garden at night for years, I have a veritable brace of munching rabbits in my garden, and there are prairie dogs nearby, raccoons, skunks and Heaven only knows what other hungry critters to contend with. I did have a fox (who at least kept down the rabbits) but not for several years. At least we do not have Lyme disease in Denver yet--but the battle between animals and people is ongoing. Alas! The critters are cute--but they make gardening much less fun.Panayoti Kelaidishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01846898350006673316noreply@blogger.com