Considering that this garden is situated in an old, established suburb only a few kilometers from downtown, there is a surprisingly large population of wildlife.

Yes, it’s the same buck as last March, with an injured foreleg. It seems the injury is permanent, but it doesn’t stop him from jumping fences and finding plants to eat, leading to desperate measures.

Otherwise, there are the usual wonderful things.

This is an odd combination, but quite colourful. The violets have spread throughout the garden and the scent can be overwhelming on a warm spring day. The buck likes them too, but they are tough and don’t seem to mind being nibbled.

I replaced the terra cotta pots with plastic ones that should hold up better when the plants get knocked over by strong winds.

Note the deer-nipped crocus foliage. Fortunately, they have no taste for Meconopsis.

And finally…

These guys aren’t just cuddling, which means there will be more of them rampaging around the garden, dumping rocks into the pond, digging holes and peeling shingles off the shed roof (which is what they were doing before this).