I'm so sorry! The deer and bunnies eat my plants, too! I used to think they were cute, but not anymore. I feel like Mr. McGregor...

I think other critters eat them, too. My sister in MN cannot grow them even on her deck and was amazed at mine. I spray Liquid Fence on them but probably not often enough. So far no problem, but I did see a small deer less than two blocks away.

Sorry about your disappointment. That is a lot of buds.

Some man got mad and hit a rabbit with his shovel. It probably broke its back and paralyzed its back legs so that it had to pull itself forward by its front feet, must have had an awful death and suffered. Made me sick to hear of it. If they start bothering my things, I'll plant them a little garden.

Planting 'them' a garden won't help. I have a six acre lawn and the deer and rabbits eat everything I plant. I started spraying my camelias with a mixture of oil based insecticide, fungicide, and hot sauce combo and it worked. The oil base stays on the leaves for some time before being washed away. I sprayed my camelias, roses, and all lilies and it works (except when I forget and wait too long between sprays).

I wonder if it would be safe to use that on lilies though.

I supposed that a garden of their own wouldn't deter rabbits, but I could never harm them. I'll cross that bridge if and when I get to it. I wonder if somebody has been poisoning them or something in our neighborhood, haven't seen any this year and that's unusual.

My neighbor was feeding the deer corn ears stuck on sticks---then she got upset that the deer finished the corn and ate her veggie garden. I asked her, how on earth is the deer supposed to know the difference between what you planted for yourself, and what you put out for him?

I would not plant gardens "for" rabbits, deer or any other critters, if I also have plants I don't want them to eat!

Deer and all the rest of them are creatures of habit---if they have learned that good things to eat grow here or there, they will be back next year, too, for the food. I don't blame them---I too, go where the food is; I go shopping for food in the supermarket, not the hardware store!