Let’s talk gardening, shall we?

Vegetables, to be precise.

Mine is a hanging version this year. Yes, I’ve reverted to the I-live-in-a-tiny-apartment-with-only-this-ridiculously-small-balcony-in-which-to-garden plan. Nevermind that I live in the country and have acres at my disposal. I can’t plant anything and hold out even a glimmer of hope for harvest.

Why, you ask?

I have deer. Ungulates. They might as well be giant mouths on hooves. Everything goes into the maw and is chewed. They already ate half my plum trees this year and the fruit isn’t even ripe. And, there are all sorts of other ravenous beasties that want to dine on my tomatoes and squash.

Every day I go out on my porch and water my nine hanging baskets, I think about how nice it would be to have a real garden again, like I did in the city. There’s something wrong with that realization. I like the deer. They’re sweet and loveable, entertaining to watch, insatiably curious, and insatiably hungry. You take the bad with the good. The upside is that gardening on the front porch is very lazy and convenient. It’s possible to grow quite a lot of fresh herbs and veggies in a very small space.

But next year…

We’re getting out the big fence and making a deer-proof, rabbit-proof, everything-proof yard. I’ll even share the surplus with the wildlife. I just want my share.

Do you garden? Do you have to share with the neighbors too?