Cover Image: Deer-Resistant Design

Deer-Resistant Design

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Member Reviews

When writing about plants and gardening, it's difficult to cover a large geographic region in just one book. The plants highlighted as deer resistant are great choices. I will be looking for many of them this spring. Many of the gardens are truly for the serious landscaper and are not likely to be duplicated by the average homeowner. The use of conifers and ferns is one takeaway a homeowner might put to use. The end of each chapter is especially useful as the top 10 plants are described with great photos.

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As I live on an island in the Salish Sea full of deer, I was very interested in this book. It contains excellent information on the deer resistance of many plants. The author identifies that we need to co-exist with these beings rather than try to eradicate them from our gardens.

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This is a great book about keeping deer out of your growing space. I love how each plant receives a ‘grade’ for how well they perform against deer. Not only does the reader receive information about landscape design for a variety of climates, but also for an abundance of different style homes as well.

Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.

*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *

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I was immediately attracted to this book because I struggle with outwitting the deer, even though I love seeing them and other wildlife in my yard. Karen Chapman has included substantial stories of 12 deer-resistant gardens diverse in both style and climate, in addition to her own story in western Washington. All of these gardens are quite substantial and were clearly costly to undertake. One might initially be turned off by this, as most of us don't have such large areas or bank accounts! But one can learn a lot from reading the descriptions and then pick and choose what can work in their own gardens. Each garden description is accompanied by profiles of 10 top plants. Then, a great surprise at the end: an entire chapter on deer-resistant container gardens, which is simply amazing! Again, one can make their own containers just like these, or just apply the look in their own garden spaces.
This book realistically describes the problems associated with deer (as well as other animals) and presents a variety of solutions that can be applied in different settings. I found it very helpful for my own yard and intend to purchase a copy!

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As a fellow gardener who has been frustrated many times lost their gardens to deer, I'm so glad I found this book. I have tried many. many deer control methods and planted many deer resistant plants only to have the deer win every time. I've already seen success with some of the recommendations from Karen Chapman. This book is worth every penny and every minute you take to read it.

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I live in Canada so this book doesn't really help me but the photographs alone inspired me. The author was very clear describing the different gardens. I would love to see more books on this topic for different areas. Thank you to Timber Press, Netgalley and the author for allowing me to review this advanced copy.

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This book showcases beautiful gardens around the country that have found innovative solutions to deer invasion. Full of practical advice and lists of deer-resistant plants for every US region.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

Just what I had been searching for, a gardening book that had suggestions for keeping deer out of my landscaping and flower beds without the use of ugly fencing.

The photography was great. It was like being on a garden tour of homes.
The suggestions for keeping deer from munching precious plants and shrubs were good. There was even a recipe included for making your own deer repellent spray.

The only disappointment with this book is that it did not include any garden properties below zone five. Thus, many of the plant suggestions were for zones warmer than that. Those of us with northern gardens in zone 3 and 4 have plenty of deer too. Please do another book for us!

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This book will save lives--no longer will an earnest human have to work hard and lose the battle to enjoy beautiful gardens and every living plant to deer. Chapman's intelligent and committed approach is fantastically refreshing. She learned the hard way how to coexist and thrive -- and shares stories, experiences and photographs of other intrepid gardeners who have succeeded brilliantly. I've learned my own hard ways of countering deer and now know ever so much more -- and cherish the fundamental information and inspiration shared in this phenomenal book. Wondrous writer!

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