24 hours later and they're not looking much better. Their leaves are all dried out, poor things. I haven't given up all hope yet.

I'm cosseting them as best I can, but the outlook is dim right now.

If only I had had those ingredients around yesterday! It might still be worth a try today, now that I have time to spend on them. But I'm not sure at this stage in their racoon-engendered disability it'll help - and if it's worth going out shopping for the ingredients.

Someday I'll have a real garden and lots of lovely nutricious things to feed it.

Stuffed raccoons, perhaps?

Only if they're big, heavy, and not subject to tooth indentations. Racoons love playing with the non-plant things I have on the deck. They push around the plastic base which is meant to hold up the umbrella. They chew on the hose. They move the sticks all around as playtoys. They love chewing on the shiny holders that tea lights come in. There are several entirely chewed up, crushed metal tea light holders scattered in the corners of the deck right now.

In general though, that might be the best way for me to have a successful garden now.

Racoons eat too much garbage for me to want to try eating them.

If the roses survive their incident, I might just keep them indoors and see how they survive. Cat, who gave them to me, said she hadn't had much luck with indoor rose growing.

Thank you for all the help, Mar! I might try one of those - I wish I had bigger beds to play with, it'd be easier to apply things to them. As is, adding mothballs would dominate the beds - but I have little enough to lose at this point. I've heard that electric high-pitched noise makers are the most effective way to keep them away - I think I'll see if I can't find a battery-powered one somewhere and try that.

I'd love one. Do they like living on decks?

I'm not sure I'd want to live with the smell of that either. Might be useful in a big real garden, but these are all small beds and pots on a deck, unfortunately. That's partially why I haven't tried using vinegar either.

Thank you for the advice, though - might come in handy one day.

When your comment arrived, I flagged it in my email as something important to respond to, and then entirely forgot to read the article and respond to it. Your comment to my other post today reminded me. Thank you for sending it!

Tabasco sounds like a sensible solution. Someone else suggested cayenne pepper. Dishsoap spritzer also sounds feasible. All three would smell much better than mothballs, vinegar, or wild boar urine, all of which have also been suggested. I think I'll go put spicy things on my garden today, especially since my one success this summer - the morning glory - is looking severely battered around the middle from racoon traffic.