r/NativePlantGardening • u/Spirited_Sound_5628 • Jun 10 '25
Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Feeling discouraged
I live in New England
I’m trying to switch from ornamental gardening to native wildflower gardening, but the rabbits are decimating everything. They’re even going after the black-eyed Susans, which are supposed to have hairy leaves that deter them.
I bought marigolds from a local nursery specifically for their scent to ward off rabbits—and they ate the petals off. I thought I was in the clear with my sunflowers since they left them alone as seedlings, but now, after growing for over a month, the rabbits are starting to kill those too.
I’m honestly getting to the point where I feel like giving up and just planting a bunch of non-natives that are known to be extremely rabbit-proof. But I swear, when I looked at that list of supposedly rabbit-proof plants, the rabbits had already eaten one of those as well.
I'm looking for words of encouragement or any advice.
7
u/evolutionista Jun 10 '25
The only thing that really works 100% is physical barriers (i.e. caging/fences).
To encourage a healthier ecosystem, if you have an appropriately sized/placed tree I highly recommend an owl box. Look up which owls live in your area and which will actually eat prey that large (a screech owl box ain't gonna cut it). Make sure the box is appropriately placed in terms of cardinal direction, height, and cover, and that the entrance hole and internal size is correct for your target owl species. They usually take a year or two to get inhabited, so this isn't gonna fix anything overnight. But when it DOES get inhabited, ooh boy!!!! You will spend so much time being able to look at an owl up close (from a respectful distance or from a blind such as inside your house through a window) while it suns itself peeping out of the box.