The tree peony is on its own! If it's lucky, the snow will hide it from hungry herbivores. I used to fence and wrap all the vulnerable plants in my garden, until it looked like a refugee camp, but finally I decided to just grow stuff that could take the abuse that Mother Nature and her children handed out. The only exceptions are plants that I keep in pots on the deck in summer and store in the greenhouse over winter. Even those are at risk, since at these temperatures, the greenhouse heater can't keep the interior above freezing . The oleanders will probably suffer some die-back, and I might lose the fuchsias altogether. I've kept the cacti very dry, so I'm hoping they'll be OK, and the species cyclamen are all hardy enough to withstand a few freezes.
I'm actually thinking about saving some kitchen scraps for the deer. Would they eat limp lettuce leaves and carrot peelings?
