I have been growing roses for only three years now and for that whole time I have been battling Tasmanian brushtail possums that can destroy everything in just one night. I have put out traps. I have stayed up all night waiting to see where they are getting in. I have put up ugly electric fences which I have to mentally block out whenever I look at the garden. It has all been for nought. It is the middle of spring and I have no leaves and no new growth at all. I'm sure many of my roses are already dead and that others will soon go the same way. I think I'm done.
I used to wander around my garden of an evening with a glass of wine in one hand and my secateurs in the other, just meandering here and there admiring the blooms and snipping off any that displeased me. I derived so much pleasure from my roses that I didn't mind the tall electric fences, the possum traps, and the fact my garden looked like a gulag. Now when I wander around the place my wine glass shakes in my hand as I survey the destruction and wipe away tears. I don't think I can keep distressing myself trying to grow roses when the possums will always win.
If you couldn't grow roses what would you grow in their stead? Would you find another plant that critters find less desirable, like dahlias, and grow that? Would you grow a different type of garden altogether, like a cottage garden full of bulbs and perennials? Would you abandon your efforts and just not bother with gardening?
I am going to grow a couple of dahlias this year but I refuse to dig them up at the end of the season and will treat them as annuals so that of they come up next year it will be a bonus, but that leaves me with the whole of spring and half of summer without much happening. I would really love to hear what other people would do if they just couldn't grow roses, fruit, and other plants that critters love. I'm sure that plants considered to be deer resistant would also be overlooked somewhat by possums so if you can recommend anything I would greatly appreciate it.
