Would You Like Some Grapes, Deer?

A mini-vinyard in progress.

This weekend the grape vines went into the ground. My boyfriend built a pergola of sorts for them, while I was digging a hole in the back yard. Him building something fabulous while I'm distracted for ten minutes happens a lot. Meanwhile I'll muddle along trying to get the grapes to grow.

I will be pleasantly surprised if my new plants actually produce any grapes.  They are cold hardy and will thrive in our soil, but our late frosts will likely kill off the chance of any grape harvests.  I'll be just as happy if it fills in the pergola to create a shady little arbor. We have future plans for the area next to the arbor, but for now we've put down wild flower seeds. I think grapes and wild flowers alike will like the sunlight and good drainage.

The main reason to worry for the survival of my grapes will likely be the deer.  We placed the grape vines next to the house hoping that the deer might not want to come in that close. We're finding that the deer are coming right up to the house almost every night.

Just this morning, I looked out the window to see how my new lilac sucker was coming in, but couldn't see it.  I rushed outside and found each one of the leaves hand been carefully bitten off. I think it will live, but we'll be installing deer cages and grow tubes this week. If I can ever get the lilac to bloom, the deer will probably leave it alone... but my grapes are a different story.

Grapevines and wildflower seeds ready to grow.