I like the idea of using botanical materials in the garden. I've noticed that in a tiny corner of the garden where peppermint has nearly overgrown my roses, the roses themselves are subjected to almost no nibbling by anyone. I'm thinking it's a pretty good deal for the roses, though it doesn't make for a neat looking bed.
Right now I am using a two stage approach for deer.
1) Spraying weekly with Liquid Fence
2) Set up Contec spray heads with motion sensors to wet whatever moves. I did that today and had a couple extra showers.
The deer have yet to attack my garden this year so it must be working! ... Oh, wait, they didn't attack my garden until the second half of May last year. So I won't quite know whether it's working until the end of the season.
I'm using a two-stage approach for squirrels, too. In addition to the Liquid Fence, I'm relocating squirrels. So far I've relocated two in three days. Also a pesky desert rat that was digging up and/or eating the tops off my oriental lilies and crocus. Still setting traps for voles and pocket gophers.
Several of my roses look as healthy and happy as I've ever seen them. So I'm going to keep up the effort for a while. Tending the garden will be an obsession for me this year because I have so much new plant material there to keep happy. It's rewarding. The late daffodils are sweetly scenting the air, and some of the more established iris are blooming. No signs of rose buds yet.
