Saturday, February 21, 2009

Liriope

I have been trying to clean up my Georgia home lately while getting things a bit more organized. That includes the computer. I have found many things which do not relate to a winter topic but since we are all tired of winter, lets take a look back shall we?
When we purchased this house, there was a skimpy circle of Liriope or Monkey Grass surrounding a tree in the front yard. The Saint hated it as it got in the way of mowing. Since I did about 98% of the mowing back then, I told him to keep his hands off my Monkey Grass! It was located in an area that receives little attention to me so I decided it needed a new home.
I dug all the bulbs out of the ground and moved them into a planter in the backyard which surrounds a Willow Oak tree. I had put Shade loving impatience in this planter one year and it was beautiful. But anyone growing a planter full of Impatience will soon find out that it loves to drink water! During our hot steamy summers, I was finding myself slowly melting away each day with hose in hand keeping the impatiens happily fed. They were beautiful and filled the planter with color all summer long. But such work to keep alive in this hot climate. I vowed to never have impatiens in my garden again as long as I live in Georgia. I am happy with replacing the planter with this Monkey Grass. It does not require much attention and easily spreads. Look how full the planter is becoming only starting with a few skimpy sprigs. Some may consider this an invasive plant but it seems to stay contained in this planter. We have been living under drought conditions the past 3 years and the purple pretty continues to thrive. Here the grass is during the winter months with a blanket of leaves keeping it warm. Once the temps climb a bit such as in the past few weeks, I get my favorite combing tool to work.
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This little hand rake was purchased for a single dollar at a discount store. I love this tool as it is perfect for combing the Monkey's hair! Click the video to see how easily it removes the old leaf from within.
Here is the planter after a good combing with my trusty tool. Some people clip their Monkey grass back each spring before the new growth starts to pop up from the warm soil. But I have not clipped mine in the past few years and it does well. We are lucky with living in a warmer climate so the green stays fairly well all winter long.
I have a little problem with the Monkey grass though.

Okay, a BIG problem! The deer think this is a feeding trough I have filled for them!
Just look at Miss Doe getting into the planter!
And teaching her babies to follow suit! I was shocked to see such young fawns during the middle of September as they are usually much larger and with few spots by that time of year. Mommy Doe had already lost her red color and was a grayish brown for Fall and Winter.
The second of the twins was trying to decide if it wanted to join in on the fun...
"Na, I think I will just give my back a little lick instead" says the baby fawn.
"Oh, what the heck, you make it look like so much fun, I will join you"
Being the animal lover I am, all I can do is sit quietly in my sun-room and watch these beautiful creatures eat the LIRIOPE, In the Garden...

49 comments:

  1. Since I don't have deer to keep my lirope cut back, I'll be doing it myself soon. LOL These are cute pictures, but I don't know if I could just watch the deer eat my plants. You are a very tolerant person.

    Jan
    Always Growing

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  2. Skeeter, Jan just said what I was thinking, I would have chased those deer (and looked like a crazy lady doing it). Luckily deer is one of the few critters we don't have in the yard, though we have years ago.
    Two days ago I went out the front door and locked it as I was leaving to get a haircut. There was Mr. Bunny at the bottom of the front steps...I did look like a crazy lady running around the yard yelling at him! All the neighbors know I am nuts. :-)
    Janet

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  3. Good morning! I really like that tool you use Skeeter. It looks perfect. I must trim my monkey grass, no deer here to eat it and this is one time I'd appreciate it if they did.

    Jan-good morning!

    Janet-no way you are crazy-just a gardener:) thanks for the laugh.

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  4. I love my liriope grass, didn't know that dear like it too.

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  5. Oh no! The deer will be back looking for something that you REALLY care about much more.

    I finally bought rabbit repellant this week. It's I MUST GARDEN made by a local woman in Chapel Hill. The rabbits were starting to burrow inside the cottage garden! The rabbits eat plants down to the roots.

    I'm getting along with the deer, but the rabbits must be repelled!

    Cameron

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  6. Oh Deer! Sorry had to say it. Grow cayenne pepper in your garden this year then put some peppers open and let them steep in water for a day or so then spray the liriope. They may not be back! You'll have to reapply after rains. I don't know if that will work 100% but it seemed to keep the deer away from our stuff.

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  7. Hi Skeeter, HA. You say you don't cut back your liriope, you don't, you subcontract that job out to the deer!
    Frances

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  8. I know that they can be a real menace but those deer are such beautiful creatures. Great pictures.

    How large is the woodland behind your garden? That is beautiful too.

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  9. Good morning everyone! We are headed out the door and I just wanted to pop in here and say hello before we take off.

    The deer dont get into this planter during the growing season as I do put out a repellent to keep them and Peter Cottontail away. This was late in the season mid-Sept so I let them have it. They only seem to eat the blooms but the rabbits will eat it down to roots! The repellant seems to work to keep them at bay during the growing season though...

    The woods behind our house is about 15 acres or more that is undeveloped. Not owned by us and I wish we did as we do enjoy the bounty of wildlife from the woods. I dont know what will happen to that land as things are developing all around us. Arg, I hope they dont cut the woods one day as that will make us sad….

    Off we go to Atlanta so I will pop in here when I can....

    Everyone have a good day!

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  10. It is truly a shame deer are so destructive. THey are beautiful animals to watch. This looks like a trio I have in my neighborhood. My dogs keep them safely away from the yard part but they are always close. Great photos.
    -Heather

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  11. the flowers are so beautyful and I#m asthonishd to the the animals there, at germany they are so very
    timid, liebe Grüße Kathrin

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  12. I love my liriope too. It grows without much care and of course we have a drought going on here too. I have a lot of room so I like having it because it fills in really nice and it looks great all year long(-: The flowers are an added bonus(-:
    The deer look so happy to be able to have a snack(-:

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  13. I am sitting here laughing --at the comment from Frances --hehehe. Does sound like you contract out for your trimming of liriope, heheeh. This made my day --I am not as lucky --I have to trim mine:) Have a great day! Ciao!

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  14. They are beautiful pictures of mom and her fawns. Lucky the plants are pretty tough.

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  15. Hi Skeeter,
    I enjoyed your post, even though I cringed seeing the deer munching away. Last year, I cut my liriope back, but in the past, I think I just got the dead parts out. I like your tool. It did a great job cleaning the plants up. I'll have to try something like that.

    Thanks for the demonstration,
    Sue

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  16. Drama, drama!
    Oh dear, oh deer, One must say they are pretty animals. Your Liriope grass is very pretty, love that lavender blue flower. Ilove them but...not in my garden. That's why I have this very tall willow fence.

    Take care Tina and thank you for a lovely post.

    Tyra

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  17. Great looking little family {liriope trimmers} you have there. They are wonderful to watch. Very graceful animals. My liriope is in front of my boxwood hedge {came with the house}. I never have to do anything with it. I've found it to be very slow to multiply. I do intend to thin it out a bit & use it to border other beds. I hope it works.

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  18. Good post with great photos of the mamma with her twins. Made me think of the time I went down to one of the weirs at the tank farm and a manna deer was there and she was snorting at me and I never had that happen before. The reason for all the snorting was that I was too close to her twins and she did not like that. I thougt she was going to attack me so I made my check real quick and left quickly.

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  19. It does work well in areas that are hard for other plants. I like the variegated form of it better, not as aggressive I think. Didn't realize that it was so appealing to the deer population though. Great shots, thanks for sharing. :)

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  20. I really like how the liriope looks in your planter, very pretty. The deer are so cute!

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  21. LOL to Frances' comment about subcontracting! too funny. I am an animal lover too and even tho I don't have deer problems, I have lots of bunnies who try to nibble away at my garden. I never get too worked up about it. Somehow there always seems to be plenty to go around. If I had a "valuable" plant, I'd try to protect it but other than that, I adopt your attitude too. What an easy care perennial that liriope is and you can't beat it if it's drought tolerant as well. Have a good weekend Skeeter.

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  22. I also love liriope... and deer, though I have neither in my garden. Cats often decide to lick themselves when unsure of something, too. :)

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  23. I never have a problem with deer eating my Liriope in suburban FL, LOL. What great photos! Here they call the shorter darker green plant monkey grass and the taller lighter green or verigated plants Liriope.

    When I lived outside Anchorage Alaska I spent a fortune on 6 Peony plants only to look out one day and see moose muching on them!

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  24. Skeeter .. I don't have this plant but now I amconsidering it more so for the thrill of having deer in my garden (which would be a miracle : ).. loved the pictures !

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  25. Deers in garden! That's something. Well your liriope please you and the deers! What could be a more perfect choice. Moreover it's got lovely blooms!

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  26. Hi Skeeter, great shots of the deer! They're such beautiful, although destructive, creatures! I'm glad they don't hang around our yard - stuff here has a hard enough time surviving as it is!

    I love liriope, especially when it's in bloom. I have a couple of small clumps that have been here for awhile, but they haven't spread - at least not yet. Not much does well growing amidst the roots of our silver maples!

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  27. One thing about liriope, it spreads quickly. Unlike the Black Mondo grass, which is said to spread slowly. I dug up lots of liriope about a week ago. It was so thick I couldn't get the fallen brown oak leaves out of it.
    Brenda

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  28. Oh deer! The Liriope is too pretty to sacrifice to the deer. I'd be shooing them away, pretty though they are. I'd probably watch for a while first though :)

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  29. Good evening everyone! We are currently in Atlanta helping our friends celebrate a 21 birthday! We are having fun but I took a minute to sneek away and read your wonderful comments. The deer are beautiful creatures and I dont mind them getting into the Monkey grass that late in the season. I would run them off if early in the season but with drought conditions, they need the moisture of the plants so I let them munch a bit. They dont stay too long so no major damage from them. We provide corn for the deer but feed them away from the main yard and gardens to keep them mainly in that area but the young fawns get a bit curious and wonder into the yard. I fear they will decide one day that the garden taste better then their corn then I will be in trouble. lol...

    Okay, I better get back,soon we will have strawberry cake and sing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl, I mean woman.....

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  30. I have finally learned how to pronounce the stuff (sounds like calliope, I think), and then the deer go and desecrate it! Do they like those little berries or just the green?

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  31. The liriope looks lovely massed like that. And the doe and her babies are very sweet, as are you for letting them be!

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  32. W2W, They dont seem to eat the berry's as they like the blooms. Yep, it is a strange name to pronouce! I still get it wrong at times. lol

    I do enjoy my wildlife even when destroying my pretties. I have to remind myself they were here first so we try to live in harmony...

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  33. Since I've yet to have deer bother any of the plants in my garden, I can just look at these photos and think how cute they are, Skeeter. I think it's awfully nice of you to provide them with their own buffet:)

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  34. Rose, I am such a sucker for the animals of this world!!! lol

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  35. Thank you especially for the pictures Tina - I love to see deer. I know they're a pain at times though!

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  36. EB, Skeeter posting today while Tina, our Master Gardener takes a few days off...

    I do enjoy watching the wildlife in our yard but it is difficult to sit back and watch them eat my pretties at times...

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  37. I love liriope in the right places and it is beautiful when it blooms! I have it in many areas myself.
    I was so surprised when I got to the deer photo...I laughed out loud, then I thought, 'how cute', then...oh no...the garden!!!
    You have your hands full there...hope you can find a way to keep them at bay:)

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  38. Jan, We have been dealing with the deer since we moved into this house. We love the wildlife around us and have decided to live in harmony with them. I keep them at bay with deterrents but at times (usually later in the season) I let them nibble a bit. I feel sorry for them during our drought conditions. The most in our herd have been 9 deer. They are beautiful animals...

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  39. Your pictures of the deer are great - the twins so sweet! I just started blogging and also put pictures of the deer eating what they think is a salad bar we planted for them. They've eaten our roses back so much they don't even come back as the same rose. Like you we are animal lovers and enjoy watching them - but do have to spray so we can enjoy them when they are NOT munching. What I am really thankful for is that the elk don't come into our yard and destroy everything in sight. We can see them from our place occasionally but have only seen a few prints. So I guess I am fortunate as I sit here and complain. Linda

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  40. Raingardener, Welcome to the Blogging world! I have been at it almost a year. Here at "In the Garden" we are a little group of bloggers from Tennessee, Maine, Florida and Georgia with Tina (TN) heading us as our Master Gardener! So glad to meet you! I just had to go check out your deer pictures and I find it strange as our deer do not eat our Periwinkle! But they have started to eat a few things they have never eaten before. I will be posting on them in a few weeks so stay tuned for more (Sigh) on the deer. I am so glad we dont elk to deal with. I saw them when we lived in Colorado and they are much bigger then deer so they would eat more! Wow, you better get your repellant ready for spring season! I need to stock up as well. lol

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  41. Oh, I know those deer are a nuisance but they are so cute! When I went to the rain garden class recently someone said to mix an egg with water, put it in a sprayer and spray the plants. Several people in the class agreed that this really works to repel both deer and rabbits.

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  42. Robin, I have heard about the egg in spray bottle also but never tried it. I use a spray that I get at a gardening center and it works well but must be reapplied after rain falls. I only let the deer have certain things such as the liriope late in the season when they need the nutrient. I do love my wildlife and try to live harmoniously with them all. They can be such pests at times though. lol but I must remember that I chose a house nestled in the middle of the woods and the animals were here first!

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  43. Thank you for the welcome Skeeter and it's nice to meet you too and learn about your group - that's really neat. Ok so that's why I got so confused with the names and thinking this is Tina's blog the other day - it belongs to all of you? Now that would be nice and give each of ya time off to rest from the confusion. Although you just added to mine - tee hee
    Yes, elk are very big but also very beautiful - lucky us we had moose in Alaska - now we're talking big!!!
    We've tried the egg - didn't work. Tried the hair, Irish Spring, you name it - even had my hubby go potty on flowers - heard that worked well. It's a guy thing he probably enjoyed that too much. LOL But we found Liquid Fence seems to work even after the rain. I'm not so sure that they gobble my periwinkle but that one did happen to be checking it out that day.
    Well this was fun - I'll be back to visit all of you.

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  44. This is funny Linda. Hubby going potty on the plants? At first I thought #2 but then I realized no, yes, liquid urine-even humans is said to work but we'll steer clear of it here. Too many neighbors. Skeeter-what say you?

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  45. Oh that is so funny. I have deer that come in my yard but no monkey grass. We have been thinking about planting some as a border but I just read it is good for hills. Think I buy some for both. I like wildlife in my backyard as well.

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  46. Potty on the plants! Now that is funny and I fuss at Zip the neighbors dog for potting on the plants so no way I would allow the Saint to potty on them! tee hee....

    I did look for the Liquid Fence at Lowes but they did not have any. I will try Tractor Supply as they usually have a better selection of such stuff....

    Anonymous, If you plant liriope and have deer, get ready to rumble with them! lol....

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  47. I have liriope in my garden and I am also located in North GA. My liriope was growing just great, but at the ending of the summer season last year something has been eating them and it's not deer. Do you have any ideas of what it could be? Are there any insects for ex:grubs that tend to eat liriope.

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  48. Anonymous, Hello and thanks for dropping by. I suspect it may be a rabbit that is nibbling your liriope. Other than that I have no idea. Liriope are usually not bothered by insects. Rabbits have been known to munch them though. It is very hard to spot a rabbit but you might find some of their scat in your garden. Usually on runs and it would be in one specific spot. The good news is that rabbits munching liriope should not cause long term damage. Hope this helps and thanks for dropping by.

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  49. Hi Tina and Anonymous,
    I'm thinking I recently read that slugs like liriope.

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