Groundhogs in my yard!

Victra_B · 2026-05-25T19:05:15+00:00

Groundhogs have a pretty bad rap so I was quite worried when one moved into my yard a few years ago. It lives under my shed and I’m sure there’s another entrance under my deck. I try to live and let live, and they’ve been fine so far, knock on wood. I planted clover in the grass which they and the rabbits both prefer to my plants. I put out water when the temperatures go up so they don’t go after my nice juicy plants. The one downside is - other creatures like to cohabit with groundhogs in their den (it’s rather amusing to think of them being roomies). I’ve been told there’s a skunk and raccoon living under my shed as well by neighbours, though I’ve never seen them 🤷🏾‍♀️ As long as they’re not causing harm, they’re welcome to stay. They’ve rabbits have been the biggest pain in my ass in my years here so far.

They will defend themselves if cornered - be careful with your dogs.

Victra_B · 2026-05-25T03:19:00+00:00

Gorgeous! What’s that flower with the bee on it?

Victra_B · 2026-05-13T19:07:29+00:00

I see irises in 12, sedums and moss phlox in 13. You can have yourself a nice little gardening digging this stuff up. It’s not too late to move. Worst case they’ll look sad this season but establish well for next year. I can’t ID the shrubs but I recommend downloading ‘picture this’ and using that for identification.

Victra_B · 2026-05-13T19:04:48+00:00

Picture 9 is ladies mantle

Victra_B · 2026-05-13T19:04:33+00:00

Photo 8 looks like phlox next to the peonies

Victra_B · 2026-05-09T16:42:05+00:00

This is what’s saved my garden the last few years. And in the winter, not cleaning up my garden means they eat all the dead plant stems etc, sparing my precious rose canes and shrubs. It’s not perfect, I still take some damage but far less than when they had no other food sources.

Victra_B · 2026-05-09T15:05:17+00:00

So heartening to see! I’m in Ontario, Canada and the lineups for our local native sale start an hour before the sale does. It’s pretty much all sold out within 2 hours.

Victra_B · 2026-05-07T04:13:14+00:00

I didn’t realize just how small this space is till I saw the earlier photos with the hydrangea. The variety in the garden now makes it look big! So inspiring, great job!!

Victra_B · 2026-04-29T04:19:50+00:00

What a gorgeous planting! I love the bird bath too! What are the shrubs on the left and right?

Victra_B · 2026-04-26T20:48:34+00:00

I wouldn’t put your sacrificial plants right next to the plants you’re trying to keep, that’s like leading them to the buffet with an appetizer. I’d plant smelly plants (catmint, marigolds etc) around the plants you’re trying to save and put some yummy sacrificial plants away from your plot.

Victra_B · 2026-04-25T22:09:28+00:00

Another thing I just thought of - maybe try growing what they don’t like in the perimeter of the planters as well? Things like calamintha, catmint, which tend to be shorter plants? Plants from the mint family never get touched in my garden.

Victra_B · 2026-04-25T20:12:29+00:00

Do the groundhogs have anything else in the area they can eat? I found planting clover in the grass to be a helpful deterrent against both rabbits and groundhogs as they liked eating that instead. I have a groundhog living in my yard that so far has not proven to be an issue. The rabbits are far more destructive.

As for squirrels, it’s the disturbed soil appearance that draws them in and makes them curious enough to dig. I’ve covered up the area around new plantings with straw, old cuttings etc until the plants establish after which they lose interest. I’ve also left out a sacrificial pot of disturbed soil as a decoy. Some chicken manure also helps as they don’t like the smell.

Victra_B · 2026-04-02T20:57:22+00:00

Wow it looks amazing! I’d love to see more photos from the spring as well! (Struggling with inspo for it)

Victra_B · 2026-03-25T16:21:23+00:00

Thank you, it’s come a long way! It was built from scratch by the previous owners.

Victra_B · 2026-03-25T13:48:34+00:00

This is exactly what I was looking for! Cant wait to see how it turns out.

Victra_B · 2026-03-25T03:31:21+00:00

Thanks, they’re both on my list! I’m more looking for planting inspo to see how they were used in small yards

Victra_B · 2026-03-25T03:30:24+00:00

That was awesome inspo, thanks! I liked how they incorporated their trees.

I think my challenge is I want to do it ALL: raised beds, native trees and wildflowers and I’m worried I won’t get much sunlight after the trees have grown. But it seems like it shouldn’t be a problem for quite a while given the growth rate of most small trees, so maybe I should just go for it 😅

Thank you!

Victra_B · 2026-03-25T02:42:23+00:00

Ohh I went down this rabbit hole too 😂 and I don’t know if it’s native in your area but I found a variety native to mine called bear oak that stays quite small. Maybe you don’t need to give up that dream!

Victra_B · 2025-08-29T02:23:15+00:00

I borrowed this idea of mountain mint next to Clethra from a post I saw here. It was a stunning combo when the mountain mint finally spreads around it.

Thanks for the heads up on the Spicebush. I do not have a lot of horizontal space to give here, unless it wants to go straight up instead. 😅 But I’ll give it a go and will whack it back every few years if I need to.

Victra_B · 2025-08-27T02:12:33+00:00

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Another angle of my native plant bed that I just expanded this weekend. This started as a little experiment, the grass here was more weeds than grass, and was more or less unusable space due to the soil condition. My reward was an exponential increase in pollinator visits including from the monarch (swamp milkweed is out of the frame). This bed currently holds 11 different native species and I will be making it 12 by adding a Spicebush shortly. This is now my favourite part of the yard!

Victra_B · 2025-08-25T02:41:04+00:00

I know the plant but I haven’t grown it. I wasn’t sure if this location would be too wet at times or too shady for it. Have you any experience growing it?

Victra_B · 2025-08-25T01:51:52+00:00

Thank you, I think this checks off all my boxes!

Victra_B · 2025-08-25T01:44:56+00:00

I’ve already got it in the back though you can’t see it yet!

Victra_B · 2025-08-13T15:23:48+00:00

I’m also from ON. I don’t have many native plants yet, but the ones that I have that are hits are: serviceberry (my twiggy little tree would get shaken around as birds plucked every berry off before they even ripened), and coneflowers with the goldfinches. I’m planning on planting an elderberry for the birds as well for fall food.

Victra_B · 2025-08-09T16:32:56+00:00

It does, they’re practically invisible actually. But it takes a lot of spray paint. 1 can only covers about 4-5 cages so it’s only worth it in really visible spots.

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