When I polled our listener community about your top requests for outdoor garden-related episodes, the number one request surprised me: it wasn’t managing fertilizer, succession planting, or garden design. It was how to manage pesky animals getting into your gardens! Today, I have the answer to your prayers: Brie from briegrows.com walks us through such a comprehensive list of practices and solutions for managing pests and other critters in the garden. This conversation really helps us rethink the way we approach animals in the garden, and I’m excited for you to learn from Brie as I did!

In this episode, we learn:

• [00:06:05 ] How Brie became Brie The Plant Lady
• [00:08:59 ] Brie shares her greatest achievement in plant propagation
• [00:11:29 ] Maria’s experience with squirrels and deer in the garden
• [00:14:15 ] Do we call them ‘pests’ or ‘animals’?
• [00:21:03 ] How to use hot peppers as animal repellent
• [00:24:18 ] Different and easy ways to use peppermint oil as animal repellent (hint: seashells!)
• [00:26:49 ] How to prevent squirrels and chipmunks from digging holes in your garden beds
• [00:30:20 ] Vole king bags vs chicken wire planters
• [00:32:47 ] How to deal with moles in the garden
• [00:33:21 ] Why you should use less mulch in the garden
• [00:39:16 ] Do you need to worry about burrowing animals if you have raised beds?
• [00:43:14 ] Squirrel damage vs groundhog damage
• [00:45:29 ] Setting up a wildlife camera for better animal surveillance in the garden
• [00:49:24 ] The best and easiest deer fence kits for your garden
• [00:54:25 ] The different plants that help repel rabbits 
• [00:57:26 ] How often should you apply repellents to your plants?
• [01:01:50 ] How to install hedges and streamers that keep deer away
• [01:13:33 ] The rookie mistakes gardeners make when trying to keep animals from the garden

Mentioned in our conversation:

• The Foodscape Revolution by Brie Arthur
• Gardening with Grains by Brie Arthur
• The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife by Nancy Lawson
• Deer‑Resistant Design: Fence‑free Gardens that Thrive Despite the Deer by Karen Chapman

Have you ever tried to rebloom an orchid?

Check out the full show notes and blog to learn what to expect in your first year as an orchid parent!

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