What was wrong
The owner had replaced the same row of arborvitae three times in six years. Franklin Lakes sits in one of the heaviest deer corridors in the county, and arborvitae is the first thing they eat in February.
What we did about it
Walked the property at dusk to find the trail. It came in through the side yard. Everybody had assumed the street.
Pulled every plant the herd had been feeding on and replaced the screening with inkberry holly. It holds its shape and the deer walk past it.
Put the few things deer love, the hydrangeas, tight against the house where a deer has to commit to get at them.
Layered the bed so it reads as designed in January, when there is nothing in bloom and most front plantings look like a parking lot.
Left the existing serviceberry, pruned it up, and made it the thing you see from the street.
- Town
- Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
- Year
- 2021
- Lot
- 0.68 acre
- House
- 1994 colonial
- On site
- 6 working days
- Work
- Planting and garden design, Weekly maintenance
What went in the ground
- Inkberry holly
- Bayberry
- Catmint
- Serviceberry, existing
- Little bluestem
- Hellebore
Materials
- Shredded hardwood mulch, 9 yards
- Leaf compost worked into the top 6 inches
- Steel edging, 60 linear feet
Five seasons in, nothing replaced.
They showed me what the deer here will not touch, and I have not lost a plant since.
Tell us what the yard is doing.
Forty-five minutes on your property, a drawing you keep, and a number in writing. If we are the wrong company for the job we will say so on the first visit.