These pups!!!

Thanks for the info, sultry and rosecanadian. Something to ponder. I think my vole and squirrel pressure is worse than deer pressure. Maybe I just need outdoor cats! The coyotes have been bad here for a long time until this past year. I think it's because a "professional coyote hunter" moved into the area. It's made a huge difference.

Sultry, your doggies are so handsome! They've been used in Europe for centuries to guard livestock but I can remember when that idea was first introduced here. I'm sure the Basques had them but it took a while for the idea to catch on for the ranchers, like any new idea. I understand donkeys are also great guards for the other animals and of course they need no special care or feeding. The pups are precious!

The open flower of Sweet Frances was rapidly fading but here she is, singing her swan song but rather prettily so. She's ensconced in an 18th century grisaille Chinese export bowl, the first rose of spring to grace my living room.

Ingrid, what a beautiful bloom, and I love how you’ve presented it. At first, I thought it was floating in a water-filled bowl. I’m so happy things are looking up for your garden.

Caroline - do you mean a wolf? :)

Sultry - any new pics of the pups...or is that a new pic? They're darling!

Ingrid - I agree with Windowsill. From far away, it looks like it's floating on water. Exceptional presentation...easy to see that you're in love with your roses and so very grateful to have them. :) :) Beautiful!!

Sultry, thank you for sharing the sweet doggies.

Ingrid, I am so heartened to hear your roses are blooming. The photos of Grandmother's Hat, Sweet Frances in the pretty porcelain, and Wild Edric are terrific. Also, by the way, I have to report that Intrrnational Herald Tribune is back in stock at Rogue Valley, and I'm afraid I had to buy it again. I lost my plant to someone's error with weed wacker, and I've greatly missed its carefree nature and purple flowers. Once upon a time, I remember this rose brightened up your garden, and I'm very glad roses have returned there at the moment.

Thanks so much, everyone. My plant of Spice also has a darling little flower. I'm not sure that some of the bushes haven't been nibbled on a bit, but I'm also seeing some new growth. WildWhiteRose, I saw that IHT was back at Rogue Valley and I'm glad you have it again now. It's a really special little rose that doesn't get enough praise. Once I'm sure my experiment will succeed I might grow it again as I really enjoyed it. I actually had two plants, and this is the one that grew at the back of the house, which is where I have my roses growing now.

Wow!! I didn't realize IHT was that beautiful!!! I can see why you and WildWhiteRose want to have that beauty in your yard.

Carol, I need to get some new pics of the puppies! They are getting so chunky. I think their eyes will be opening soon. All they do now is eat sleep and whine lol.

Ingrid, I love your Sweet Frances in the dish. ♡ Wild Edric is so bright and pretty too.

Thank you about the puppies. Yes, the Great Pyrenees Dogs are from Europe..they originated from the French side of the Pyrenees Mountains that separate France from Spain where they are used to guard the flocks from bears and wolves. They have a large double dew claw that helped stabilize them on those high rocky mountains.

I really thought they might suffer in the heat here but their double coat has air between it that helps keep them cool in summer as well as warm in winter. We give them shelter, shade, and lots of water. They will not stay in the house. They want to be with the goats. Our male dog, Gabriel, especially, gets massive separation anxiety if he can't see "his goats" lol.

They dig holes in their pasture and go in them like a little cave. That's something they did to get out of snow and keep warm so digging is pretty instinctual. I know one lady who has goats in FL and her GP guardian dogs have a Giant cave dug in a bank of her pasture where her dog has her puppies every spring. The dogs sleep in the cave, in the daytime and Patrol at night. They are pretty laid back with people. I wouldn't wanna be a wolf around any of these dogs though lol.

Sultry, your description of these dogs is so fascinating. I've never heard of a double dew claw. Amazing what you can learn on the rose forum!

Sultry - there are a few dogs with double dew claws...I think they're all used for climbing...Beauceron, Norwegian Lundehund (used to hunt puffins) come to mind. Yes, please!! More puppy pictures. :) :) It's amazing how people have bred dogs to be certain ways...have to be with their goats. lol :) :)

It's another day and all is well on the rose front. I must say the rugosas are real laggards in putting out new shoots not to even mention leaves. I tell myself that it will all be wonderful in May, although perhaps late May for some of them. Some of the roses like Cole's Settlement, Sweet Frances, Aloha, Spice and Marie Pavie I've grown before but the others will be a new experience and that is really exciting.

This little guy, a gopher snake, appeared outside our dining room window the other day.

Oooh...maybe it'll eat squirrels...you won't have to feel guilty because it's the circle of life and outside of your control. :) It's a pretty snake. :) I'm so happy that the squirrels are still leaving your roses alone.

That's fascinating aboutthe GP dogs making themselves caves!

I wonder if it's because that breed is old and untouched by modern breeding practices that it exhibits a more "natural" behavior.

It's another day and I fear the squirrels have found my roses. Not only have they chewed off the leaves but they have even chomped on the branches. This in spire of the Liquid Fence which seemed to work so well in the beginning. I'm fatalistic; whatever happens happens.

I hate to hear this, Ingrid. My husband traps squirrels and relocates them but I think that is illegal.

I hate to hear it too, Ingrid. I'm so sorry.

Sheila, I do think that new squirrels would take the place of the trapped ones, were I ever to do that, which I won't. I live in an environment changed by global warming and I cannot alter that. I'll continue to spray till the bottle is empty and then I'm done. We're faced with much worse things, and may someone have mercy on us.

Ingrid...that's such a deep shame. Can you at least get a small meshed greenhouse to put one or two rose bushes in?

Call me picky but if I can't have roses growing freely in the garden then I'd rather pass. However, it's the next morning now and things are no worse, and in fact Plum Perfect has two nicely opening buds. I'm here until all the roses are gone, and so I still have some hope.

Ingrid, I'll be hoping for the best for your roses, and I'm glad to hear that you're able to enjoy some blooms.

Ingrid - oh, that's good that things are no worse. Maybe they decided the taste wasn't worth the reward, and they'll tell all their friends. Yay for Plum Perfect!

Today the little varmints ate a beautiful bloom of Sweet Frances so I sprayed everything with Liquid Fence again. They also ate half of a large open bud of Plum Perfect so as before no one knows what the eventual outcome will be. I'll be content if I can see a few blooms of roses I haven't grown before such as the rugosas but only time will tell.

Oh Ingrid, I feel frustrated for your sake when I hear what the critters are doing to your garden. I wish someone could fix up a water hose that sprays every time it senses movement. It would hopefully frighten them away and water your roses at the same time.

Judi - water spray/motion detector...that's a great idea!

Ingrid - I guess you'll have to bump up your spraying schedule. Maybe you weren't spraying as often as you should. I'm really hoping that this will work. :)

Water/motion detectors are pretty expensive and some people complain they end up spraying themselves. I don't think they're all that effective with deer. I've had tried lots of deer repellents--predator urine, cat pee balls, various powders and liquid sprays, and the most effective repellent I've found, for deer, at least is Deer Out. Ingrid, give that one a last desperate try. I think it's better than Liquid Fence. I've been using it for 13 years now. Diane

Thank you all for the support and advice and, Diane, I will be ordering the Deer Out. After having seen all the photos of your uber-gorgeous roses I am very motivated and anxious to try it. Stay tuned for my report! (It will arrive May 3)

Ingrid, I think you need to get some snakes or a big green house.

Oh, I didn’t realize deer were eating your roses, Ingrid. I thought it was roof rats this time around, which is why I suggested the motion activated water spray device. Small critters don’t take very well to being sprayed with water, but I can imagine deer becoming impervious to it pretty quickly.

It's a repellent that can be used for everything. They are all quite similar. Liquid Fence depends on essence de rotten eggs as do all the popular repellents. Deer Out also contains oil of peppermint and oil of white pepper.

Good luck with Deer Out, Ingrid. I'm hoping rats and squirrels hate oil of peppermint and white pepper. They seem to like rotten eggs--at least the rats. Perhaps, oil of dead rat might be the answer. Sorry. Diane

Oh, how funny, Diane, "oil of dead rat". Where would we be without humor? Trying to grow roses in a marginal environment is such a first-world problem, but on the other hand whatever feeds our souls is really important.

There are deer in the nearby Palomar Mountains but the poor things would starve here. I often think if wolves were more prevalent the deer problem would be contained and whole ecosystems would be revived. Of course humans would have to be much more evolved to allow that.

Wolves are being reintroduced in certain areas again, Ingrid. And there’s enough threat to the little humans in these areas that parents are building safety “cages” for their children to sit in while they wait for the school bus.

Judi - seriously? Wolves aren't habituated to people enough for that, I'm thinking. I'm very surprised by that. Scary if that's the case.

I'm also surprised as they usually avoid people, but I can understand parents' fears. It's never an easy problem trying to reconcile the rights of animals and humans; usually humans win.

We had wolves re-introduced in Idaho years ago, and there was a big to-do between farmers, ranchers, and those that viewed re-introduction as a good thing. The most that happened was a few cattle were harmed, and the ranchers were rightfully fully reimbursed for their loss. Once the federal government took wolves off the endangered list, Idaho Fish and Game (not wildlife; this commission only cares about fish for fishermen and game for hunters), hired expert marksmen to go out and kill all the wolves that were considered "excess" according to them. I was quite disgusted by this move, but not surprised. For the last several years, the whole dispute has quieted down, I guess, but absolutely no kiddies were abducted by wolves while they waited for their school buses, I assure you. So the taxpayer pays to re-introduce the species. The taxpayer repays anyone whose property was harmed. The taxpayer pays to have marksmen kill the species that the taxpayer paid for. What a wretched state of affairs. Diane

Disgusting. Wolves are necessary keystone animals. I think most of them were originally given to the U.S. from Canada. Such a shame to think of them being shot.

Such a funny scene this morning. A ground squirrel insouciantly climbed to the very top of Wild Edric, not fazed by all the spines along the way, and proceeded to eat one of the blooms. I went outside to scare it, and it was back up WE as soon as I closed the door. Went outside again and it proceeded to practically sit on my foot, tried to get into the door and then took a good sniff at my bottle of Deer Off. I cut off all the rain-soaked blooms and left the little guy to dine. Naturally it then ignored the conveniently situated blooms and trundled off to who knows where. Nature is much stronger than I am.. I think it might be one of the five baby squirrels from last year who were born nearby, so no fear of me (or of Wild Edric!)

The little devils!

That is adorable!(Sorry) I thought they were statues. Just like Elvis said looks like an Angel but they truly are the devil in disguise.

I'm of two minds about them; they're doing what they have to but I'd dearly like some roses. I'm spraying Deer Off religiously and hoping and praying the little guys will at least allow me to have a few roses. The roses on the ground didn't go to waste; someone has now gobbled them up. Plus, I cut off what was left of the Wild Edric blooms and buds that showed color and they are now gracing my living room.

I paraded my little bouquet around the living room - it is so fragrant!

Tang horse with female rider circa 800 AD

How wonderful your roses and treasures.

Thank you, dear Sheila. For many years before the roses my passion was collecting 18th and 19th century Chinese porcelain (plus a few Tang pieces), and even though I no longer collect they are my cherished friends and I would not want to live without them.

Ingrid - you have some roses!!! :) :) As long as your expectations aren't to have huge masses of roses, this could work. Getting a few blooms is better than getting none. :) :) Those are delightfully beautiful blooms!! I love them!! I especially love the Tang horse!!

I couldn't agree more, rosecanadian, I would be so delighted to have just a few bushes with a few blooms. To be honest, I'd be ecstatic, and I'm actually hopeful that it will come to pass.

I'm sure that will be manageable. :) :) You've got this.

It appears that the ground squirrels have realized that they're not deer as the Deer Off doesn't seem to be wholly successful. However, all is not lost and if I can get some of the roses to full blooming season that's good enough for me. Aloha, Plum Perfect, Sweet Frances, Cole's Settlement and Spice, along with Wild Edric, are holding up while Xenna, Marie Pavie and others have only a few leaves to their names so it's definitely a mixed bag. The rugosas are limping along, only a few tiny leaves appearing by now. However, it's finally sunny so that should help.

@Ingrid_vc zone 9b, San Diego Co. inland

I read your story and I can feel your frustration, it is terrible! I am surprised because we have some rodents around here too - squirrels chipmonks, etc - but they never seem to get to the roses. It is the deer that is causing all the devastation but the deer repellent by Bobbex fixed the problem for me this year.

I just keep a sprayer handy at the exit of the garage and grab it in the evening and spray. Last year I barely got any blooms form the roses in the ground, but this year with spraying - it worked.

Now I am trying to make my own concentrate since that one is kind if pricey.

I wish they could come up with something similar to keep your small rodents away.

Maybe it will get better when the roses are tall enough and they can't reach the blooms?

Alas, Artist, as I saw the other day, the ground squirrels had no problem clambering to the very top of Wild Edric, who is all of six feet tall and as spiny as all getout. It's encouraging that spraying worked for you, and I'll definitely keep on with it too.

Ingrid - it's good to hear that some of your roses aren't as palatable to the squirrels as others are. Next year, you may want to buy more of the varieties that are doing well and get rid of the ones that aren't. Or not. lol I found this: Squirrels dislike the smell of castor oil. Mix ¼ castor oil with two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid into water and spray it around your yard where you have noticed ground squirrel activity. If this works, it would be cheaper. You could do an experiment. Spray one part of the garden with Deer Off, another with castor oil and another one with coffee or peppermint (also ones that they don't like). They also said you could spray with one for a while and then if they get used to that, spray with something else. As long as you get some blooms, you'll be happy. :) :)

Artist - that's really good to hear. :) :)