Nothing gets gardeners more agitated in winter than double digit below temperatures with a puny layer of snow that doesn’t provide much insulation.
And/or rabbits having to eat. You remember my pet wild rabbit, Eve? Yes, her…
She has chowed down my Diervilla ‘Kodiak Orange’ shrubs I planted in early May of 2024. So much for rabbit resistant. I get it though, this winter has been brutal on people, pets, plants and pipes too. Yes, mine froze and burst. Sorry, I got sidetracked there.
Not only have Eve and her bunny buddies chowed down on my Diervilla, they also went after my ‘Bridal Wreath’ spirea I planted in 2023. And not to be left out, the Cotoneaster planted in 2020… WHAT!?
And cotoneaster damage. This is planted right along an area the rabbits clearly use as a “run”.
So what’s the lesson?
So what’s the lesson? The first is that there’s more than one lesson. The second lesson is that, in spite of “rabbit resistance’, a hungry rabbit will eat whatever they can. The third lesson is that small shrubs, resistant or not, should be protected with hardware cloth. The fourth lesson is that we cannot cover all the bases when preparing for winter. For example, I don’t believe there were any meteorologists saying that the cold stretch of Winter 2025/26 would be so brutal.
Bottom line, gardening is a commitment to never give up! And to remember that all of these shrubs WILL grow back.
In the meantime, Eve is still doing well and I can’t help but feel for her. She did leave behind plenty of droppings to nourish the soil next spring.