Top Picks for creating a Deer Resistant Garden | |
Annuals | Perennials |
Ageratum | Artemesia |
Alyssum – annual & perennial | Cranesbill geranium – Geranium sanquineum |
Begonia | Coral Bells – Heuchera |
Coleus | Coreopsis |
Marigold | Dicentra – Bleeding Heart |
Monarda | Helleborus – Hellebore (Lenten Rose) |
Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan) | Hibiscus – annual, perennial & tropical |
Salvia – annual & perennial | Nepeta – Catmint |
Dusty Miller | Sage – Salvia |
Zinnia | Spiderwort – Tradescantia |
Bulbs/Rhizomes | Shrubs/Trees |
Allium | Barberry |
Daffodil | Japanese Maple |
Iris | Hibiscus – a.k.a. Rose-of-Sharon |
Hyacinth | Holly |
Lilac | |
Viburnum | |
Vines | Groundcovers |
Bittersweet (Celastrus) | Black Lily Turf – Ophiopogon |
Clematis | Lamium – Deadnettle |
Honeysuckle | Lily of the Valley |
Porcelain Berry Vine (Ampelopsis) | Lilyturf – Liriope muscari & punctata |
Silver Fleece Vine (Polygonum aubertii) | Pachysandra |
Trumpet Vine (campis Radicans) | Vinca minor (Myrtle, Periwinkle) |
Wisteria (Chinese sinensis) | |
Grass | Ferns |
Bouteloua c. – Sideoats Grama | Adiantum p. – Maiden Hair Fern |
Chasmanthium latifolium – Inland Sea Oats | Cyrtomium f. – Holly Fern |
Festuca o. ‘glauca’ – Blue Fescue | Dryopteris – sp. Wood Fern |
Miscanthus sp. – Chinese Silver Grass | Matteuccia p. – Ostrich Fern |
Pennisetum o. – Fountain Grass | |
Pennisetum – Annual Fountain Grass | |
Please note that a starving deer will eat just about anything once their habitat has been depleted of their natural food during a severe weather. The plants listed above are our top picks but no plant is 100% deer resistant. Deer tend to avoid plants with pungent, fuzzy, or prickly leaves. Once idea might be to intermingle pungent herbs into your annual and perennial beds . Chances are if the plant smells bad to you, the deer may avoid them too.