Pieris Japonica, otherwise known as Andromeda, is the newest addition to our landscaping projects. We were looking for something to plant that would grow enough to give us some privacy from the neighbors behind us. Lovely people as they are, we just wanted a little something. Of course with all our obstacles (lots of shade, deer, sandy soil) we were worried about finding something we'd like. Thankfully the guy at our local nursery is very knowledgable. He led us to the Pieris Japonica, a beautiful evergreen ornamental shrub, that could grow up to 10' tall and 8' wide (although they usually don't). We planted three, in a neat little row at the back of the upper yard.
They are said to be deer resistant, but as we've come to find, nothing is ever safe from a very hungry deer. Not to take any chances however, we concocted a homemade spray to keep the deer away. Based on some recipes we found online, which we of course added our own touch to. This site has some great recipes. We made ours with 2 raw eggs, 5 cloves of garlic, and 5 serrano chili peppers, all in the food processor, then mixed with water. We used a garden sprayer, one orginially bought for wallpaper removal, and doused my new babies with our toxic sludge. Hopefully that is enough to let the deer know they don't want to eat them.
Our neighbors are more careful, coverering everything in their entire gorgeously landscaped yard with burlap. Not taking any chances I guess.
Did I mention we did all this spraying out in the pitch black at 11pm? With a flashlight. Good thing all our neighbors are old and were hopefully in bed sound asleep. So my little beauties lasted the first night. I'll be keeping a close eye on them.
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