Summertime for gardeners is associated with a time of lush growth and the onset of berries, veggies and fruit. In our climate summertime is also associated with heatwaves, dry fields and vegetation, regional wildfires and often drought. Our summers get little rainfall when there is any.

As the grasses and other annuals make seed and dry up, deer start looking for new green foods to sustain them through the summer. Irrigated plants are irresistible because they are lush and contain plenty of water.

As the heat inevitably turns up the dial and as the grasses dry, it is a sign for me to become more alert of deer browsing my trees and perennials. It is helpful to take more observational walks this time of year, not just to look for deer browse but also for drought stress.

Last time in Spring Deer Browse: Observing the First Bites of the Season I shared how I was just starting to observe noticeable signs of deer browsing the forbs and broadleaf plants as well as native perennials.

Now at the onset of intense summer heat and the first heatwaves of the season things are very different. Most of the grass outside of irrigated areas has dried and turned brown. Annual herbs and biennial herbs in their second year have made seed and dried up or are in the process of drying up.

Note: I actually took all of these photos and started this blog post on the days leading up to summer solstice. Because of the wildfire that came through our hills I put off finishing this post until now while I was processing and digesting the local wildfire event that had happened. If you don’t mind, please read this article as though it was written around summer solstice, which was the original context and intention.

Now in summer solstice we are experiencing the longest days of the year. Its a magical time of year in its own way. Well, what time of year isn’t? But in solstice we are really feeling the pull of summer, the intensity of heat, the blaze of fire and strength of sun energy.

Those long days and strong sun energy affect all life on our planet in ways we know and infinite ways that we do not. Many plants are already flowering and making seeds, but others still are just becoming triggered to start flowering thanks to the longer daylight hours. Uncountable changes are triggered in vegetation as well as animals alike.

Those of us eating more seasonally are enjoying changes in our diets. For example, now we’re eating less stinging nettle, perennial kale and other springtime herbs and we’re eating a lot of purslane and other summer herbs. The more sensitive, or tuned in, human gardeners, wildcrafters and locavores might even notice their cravings for foods subtly change with the seasons. It is certainly happening with the wildlife, including the deer.

As I walk around, I am noticing native and wild perennials’ leaves are green, but some perennial herbs are withering a bit from lack of moisture and settling in for a long hot summer.

The non irrigated parts of our property give me insights into the surrounding vegetation. I also see the native and wild vegetation when I walk around our neighborhood or take a walk in the nearby hills. Outside of riparian areas, everything feels so much more dry than springtime. Shade feels like a luxury and looking up at the green leaves on native trees brings gratitude to my heart and wonder to my mind.

This time of year, deer are shifting their dietary preferences to tree and shrub leaves, as well as perennial broadleaf herbs. Well its not like they shifted all of a sudden. Their diet is gradually shifting every day throughout the season. Its like a soft arc.

Now I am seeing deer eating our native oak leaves like we might eat a lettuce salad despite their being rich in tannin. I see them eating mock orange leaves. They are eating pacific madrone leaves and the tender buds and leaves of wild himalayan blackberry vines where the thorns are still relatively small and soft. I’ve occasionally tasted each of these leaves here and there and they are not something I want to eat raw more than a nibble or two. They are full of tannin. They are astringent. They are relatively tough and dry.

Well, I am not a ruminant! I am an omnivore with a one chambered stomach. And thanks to all of our ancestors, my stomach has evolved to most easily digest and benefit from food that is already cooked or predigested (e.g. fermented). On top of that, my stomach has evolved to digest plants that were domesticated to be sweeter, plumper and moister, with less tannin and alkaloids.

And while deer can eat so much more vegetation than I could without further processing, they’ll also jump for a chance to eat the leaves and tender twigs of many, if not most, of the trees and shrubs that I am growing.

Enjoying this article?

We'll let you know when new articles are available!

I plant many of my trees outside of our garden’s deer fence and partially exposed to the deer. Smaller trees are especially vulnerable because all of their leaves are within deer browse height. Smaller trees also have less leaves, which means each leaf is so much more important for photosynthesis and transpiration.

I’ve designed my orchards to allow deer access to browse some of the leaves of my trees. Allowing them some access affords me the opportunity to have a conversation with the deer about which tree leaves they want to eat, which ones they favor, how the trees respond and much more. The learning really never stops!

The key word in the first sentence of the previous paragraph is “some”. Most plants and trees are designed to flourish in response to some browsing. This is why pruning works so well. When we pinch our basil flowers, the basil plant makes more leaves.

Every tree has a different amount foliage it can afford to offer up to browsing (or other damage) and still remain healthy and vibrant. At some point though, each tree has its limit and when it is over browsed it will go into shock and have a harder time bouncing back. The more significantly a tree is over browsed, the harder time it will have.

Some scientists have measured the exact percentage of browsing (or pruning) certain plants can take. It can vary widely. But I prefer to look at it like a conversation or a dance rather than a science. In nature there are so many variables and infinite unknown variables!

This time of year I am starting to notice the first signs of deer eating my tree leaves. Initially they only eat leaves that they prefer. But as summer grows longer, water becomes more scarce and deer are more hungry, they become less and less picky.

Deer have also shifted away from eating the lush spring grasses and are now focusing on green forbs. When I see signs of deer browsing the unprotected forbs, I know that deer will soon try to eat my protected trees’ leaves if they haven’t started to already.

This is my 5th season growing trees and shrubs in the presence of deer on this land. In the first few seasons my learning curve was the steepest and I made a lot of adaptations to how I protected my trees. Even with all the preparation and knowledge gifted from my mentors, there has been a lot to learn firsthand.

By now things have become less challenging and I am feeling safer in regards to the safety of my trees. There have been a few hiccups here and there in the last few seasons but mostly the tree protection is solid and the trees are happy.

And the deer are out there everyday and night making a living from harsh and lush environments alike. The whitetail particularly are so adaptable that they are found everywhere in the continental US and beyond, up into Canada and down into south America.

These days, deer are over populated in many places, even in city and urban environments, when they are are near wildlands.

I was visiting my friend in town the other day who lives in the middle of the city, several miles from the mountains, and is still regularly visited by deer. They have a 5 foot fence and most people’s garden fences in town are between 4 and 6 feet tall. In the country most folks 7-8 foot deer fences protecting gardens.

My friend told me that the deer never hop the fence even though it would be easy for them to. The ornamental plants that they browse outside of the garden fence is minimal and they take a few bites here and there and move on.

It makes sense to me because in cities and suburbs yards are closer together and are often all irrigated. That means that entire city blocks upon blocks are fully green. There is sooo much food close together (including many “ornamentals” that we wouldn’t consider food even though many are edible) and so much diversity of food that deer don’t need to be picky. Deer are browsers by nature and the more food that is available, the less they will take from any one place—unless its a favorite!

This goes back to pruning. When deer browse plants, they are pruning the landscape, to their own benefit I might add. When they are not over browsing their influence is net positive to the landscape and other wildlife.

In our rural setting we are tending many young fruit and trees surrounded by much native and wild vegetation. I wouldn’t say that the deer are overpopulated in our valley, but they are very present and still have the potential to over browse my trees even if they are not over browsing the native vegetation all around us.

Like I said earlier, at this time of year they will often prefer more succulent, diverse, irrigated leaves with less alkaloids. They also prefer young trees with leaves right at their height. Sounds like most of the fruit and nut trees I am tending!

This time of year I am still vigilant about checking on my trees for deer browse and water stress regularly, with extra emphasis on new plantings and the youngest and tastiest trees. Some of my tree protection designs require occasional adjustments. Others are completely hands off.

Either way I am learning from the deer about when and where they prefer to browse my trees. For the most part, I am able to stay ahead of what each tree needs. The exceptions are where I learn the most.

I sure do love learning from the deer and the trees. As a gardener I long ago gave up on wanting to learn everything there is to learn, because its an impossibility. There is so much we humans don’t and can’t know!

Sure, my brain is tempted to want to figure everything out. But gardening has helped my heart have a safer space to declare wonder and excitement about the unknown. Like all of nature, like all of Mother Earth’s gifts, trees and deer are magical creatures.

I am feeling so grateful to be able to grow trees in the presence of deer so that we can all coexist together, even in the hottest, driest times of year when food for deer and water can be scarce.

Want to grow trees more naturally in the presence of deer? You don’t need to install a costly deer fence around your entire orchard or property. Protect your fruit and nut trees individually from deer. Fine tune deer protection based on your goals, habits of your local deer and any inherent deer resistant qualities within your trees. Allow deer and other wildlife safe passage through the land you steward.

See our course Protect Fruit and Nut Trees from Deer and Rodents for details!