Tips
Deer dislikes
When deer are hungry, no plant is safe. But they tend to avoid plans with:
*Toxic foliage, such as foxglove, monkshood, hellebore, lily-of-the-valley, and oleander.
*Fuzzy leaves, such as black-eyed Susan and lamb's ears.
*Prickles, such as barberry, yucca, American holly, and pine.
*Aromatic foliage, such as lavender, monarda, nepeta, thyme, yarrow, mint, Russian sage, and artemisia.
To remove pitch after handling evergreens, rub cooking oil on your hands and wipe with paper towels. It will also remove the sticky remnants from stickers on glassware etc.
A drippy watering can stain leaves with fertilizer salts if you are not careful. Unless you scrub pretty hard, plain water will not wash off those mineral deposits. To dissolve the white spots without mauling the foliage, mix 1 teaspoon vinegar in 1 quart of water and apply this cleaning solution with a soft clot or sponge. No need to rinse the leaves afterwards; that small amount of vinegar is harmless to the plant.
When dividing plants use plastic grocery bags to hold the clumps. The handles make it easy to carry the plants, and the plastic keeps mud and water off porches, cars and clothes. With a few holes poked in the bottom, most plants can be left in the bags for several days, as long as you set them in a shady spot. You can also write the name of the plant on the bag with a marker. That way you don't get the plants mixed up.