dear little deer

[Waaii]

I am 'lucky' enough to have small herds of deer coming into my garden which is really impossibly expensive to adequately fence. They are beautiful and Yes I am lucky BUT this year they ate the blooms and buds and most of the leaves from almost all my plants. The new roses just in flower (about 30 bushes) seemed particularly prized to eat. There is masses of grass, water & woodland nearby but they prefer my flowers and veg. How can I keep them off at least some of the beds?
Tried bells, foil, mothballs, scarecrow, lemon oil on sticks, fake animals, chicken wire, hair & can't have dog, have cats.

[B00]

Oh wow, deer in ya garden? Ya lucky thing, all I get is stray cats :-(

I can't help with ya problem, but I personally would consider it a trade off, a few flowers for a herd of deer? I'd live with that!

[Catso]

Electric fencing?

[alan30]

Heard this before; muntjac deer love roses. I have seen planting schemes where they have gone along rows selecting the species they prefer and leaving the rest. When times are hard they will eat everything. Ask the Forestry Commission locally if there is a deer control group that can help otherwise fencing is the most likely solution but will be expensive as they will jump normal stock proof fence. Piles of cut vegetation have been used successfully in commercail forestry particularly coppice regeneration where the rubbish left after cutting is piled in rows around the coppice stools to protect the new growth. Not sure this is aesthetically viable in a garden. Have heard that dung from big cats is a deterrent but difficult to find volunteers to collect it!