Rabbit Archives – Strength Of The Small

Rabbit Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Windy Day In The Garden

By JM PerezJune 5, 20151 min read658 views

It’s been a while. So much has happened around my gardens since my last blog post and I have been busier than before. The weather has been hectic lately and days like these I think I must be completely crazy to live in the High Desert. I can’t stand the wind, dirt and debris flying all over the place. It’s just insane.

Rabbits and Squirrels have returned.
Fortunately for me, there’s nothing soft enough for the Rabbits to eat. Not being able to climb on the Almond Tree, the Ground Squirrels are so desperate for food. They have been digging up bulbs, damaging irrigation tubing as well as attempting to dig holes throughout our property.

The set of tiny rose bushes I transplanted (Pristine® Hybrid Tea Rose and Chicago Peace® Hybrid Tea Rose) a while back have bloomed for the first time. They look more like climbing roses and the colors are different. It makes me wonder if what I transplanted was a Rose Sucker. We will build pretty trellises to support the branches.

Until next time, have a very good start to your weekend.

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By JM Perez

Rabbit Gardening High Desert

Cottontail Rabbit Hunt

By JM PerezJuly 24, 20141 min read525 views

As Summer heat hit its peak, critters and other living things alike come out in search for food and shelter. Sometimes they are lucky and sometimes they find an unfortunate fate.

For almost a month now, some of my plants in the front yard have been decimated by a Cottontail Rabbit, which made itself at home every evening to feast. Most of my Gaura Lindheimeri young plants are either halfway gone or a total loss. Those cute little animals are a menace as they can be very destructive to unfenced gardens.

As you can see on the above picture, the young Cottontail Rabbit remained hidden underneath the Gaura Lindheimeri plant and didn’t budge when my husband got his Pellet Gun ready and opened the door. The first shot missed the Rabbit which still didn’t move. The second shot got it in the ear and that was the end.

I will move on to revive the rest of the damaged plants and secure my front yard fencing.

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By JM Perez

Rabbit Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Repelling Hungry Rabbits

By JM PerezApril 30, 20142 min read542 views

All of last week I noticed a daily reduction in my Spring flowers. At first I thought the ground Squirrels were back and feeding on whatever they could find. On Monday morning to my surprise however, I came face to face with the destroyer: a Young Cottontail Rabbit. Half of my plants are gone. The little Rabbit ate most of the Gladiolus, Allium Drumstick, Heartleaf Ice Plant, some Freesia, Longiflorum-Asiatic Lily Birgi and Sparaxis.

Seeing how much damage the critter has caused in just a few minutes, I immediately wrapped the whole area with chicken wire. About thirty minutes later, I saw the young Rabbit around the plants; except this time, it couldn’t access them. Prior to exiting my property, it nibbled on a Gaura Lindheimeri seedling and attempted to eat the tender leaves of the Pendula Yucca young plants. A hungry Rabbit will eat just about anything, except highly aromatic plants such as Common Lilac, Rose Geranium, Lemon Verbena, Honeysuckle Azalea, Lavender, Marigold, Rosemary, Salvia, Sweet Mock-orange, Thyme, Myrtus, Choisya, Tulbaghia Violacea, Lantana, etc.

Yesterday while looking out my bedroom window, I saw a similar Rabbit by my kids Fairy Garden. This time however, it came into my yard with a much smaller Rabbit. As cute as they both looked, I knew it meant trouble for my plants as well as my sanity. My husband went into the backyard, chased them off our property and closed a gap between our fence and the neighbor, where the Rabbits were entering and exiting the property.

There haven’t been a Rabbit in sight today, just a couple of Squirrels attempting to make their way to the Sweet Almond Tree in the front yard. In summary it has been a beautiful day.

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By JM Perez

Rabbit Nature Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening

Beautiful Weather

By JM PerezApril 19, 20141 min read581 views

The weather has been really warm lately in the High Desert. We are still in Spring, yet it often feels like Summer. I wake every day feeling grateful for the weather because I know in some States and Countries it is raining and/or still snowing. Yesterday I captured the moon as it was still up in the sky prior to driving my son to school.

A few of my miniature Hybrid Roses are blooming.

A few of my Sunblest Hybrid Tea Rose flowers are starting to produce rose buds within the rose flower. I read somewhere that this phenomenon is called proliferation and is usually caused by pollinating insects and or temperature change. According to the website HuntingtonBotanical.org, proliferation is not a disease but caused when the apical cells are multiplying so fast that they do not stop dividing when a flower is produced, but they keep on dividing and produce a cluster of new buds in the center of the earlier flower.

We’ve caught a glimpse of Squirrels attempting to access the Sweet Almond Tree in the front yard in search for food as well as Cottontail Rabbits in the empty lot behind our Home.

Wishing you all a Joyful and Holy Easter Weekend!

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By JM Perez

Gopher Rabbit Animals High Desert

Backyard Uninvited Guests

By JM PerezMarch 7, 20141 min read477 views

Since the rain passed more critters are coming out from their hidings.

I am not sure how the little Cottontail Rabbit got into my backyard and I was surprised to see it. I guessed it came from the neighbors, making its way through an opening between the wooden fence panels and ended up in our backyard. It was fun watching it run around in search for a way out when it realized I wasn’t going anywhere. I saw it a few minutes later on the empty property lot behind our Home.

Seeing that Rabbit explained the damages on my Pretty Woman Daylilies as well as the Siloam David Kirchhoff Daylilies in the front garden. I wrapped some chicken wire around the plants to prevent further damages.

Bunny. — *Cottontail Rabbit in the Backyard.*

My husband set a Macabee Gopher Trap yesterday after finding a couple of freshly dug holes in the backyard. Sure enough we found a trapped Pocket Gopher the following day, making it the second in less than a month.

It is impossible to completely rid the garden of pests and animals. Placing Chicken wire at the base of plants and around them help minimize damages and give the gardener some peace of mind. Though there are pests and animals repellents out there, we must never forget that a hungry animal will risk anything to feed.

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By JM Perez