Deer-Resistant Plants – Keep Deer Out of your Yard and Garden

No Need for Deer Repellent; Use Deer- Resistant Plants Instead!

Keeping deer out of your yard is high on the priority list of many homeowners in this area. As any seasoned gardener will tell you, one of the most gut-wrenching experiences is spending a lot of time and money on your landscaping only to find it demolished just days later by foraging deer. The solution? Using deer-resistant plants.

Losing plants and flowers to deer is always heart-breaking, but there are certain plants to keep in mind if your area is known to have particularly hungry deer. Your landscape should not only be beautiful, but sustainable too. However, it is important to note that these plants are considered deer-resistant, and not deer-proof, because of course the amount of other viable food sources and the season can have a large impact on what the deer will eat.

Most creatures have preferences over the types of things they like to eat, and deer are no exception to this. Here are a few types of deer-resistant plants to keep in mind when planning your next garden:

• Prickly plants: Deer prefer leafy and smooth leaves to eat, so fuzzy plants such as lamb’s ears are unappealing.
• Aromatic plants: While we might enjoy basking in the heavenly scents of our garden, deer tend to avoid the scented plants we love so much. This is particularly the case with ornamental herbs, such as mint, rosemary, and sage, which have an added bonus of being useable in your kitchen!
• Poisonous plants: Deer have a strong sense of self-preservation, so choose toxic plants like daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies to keep deer away!

“Deer-resistant” is not a category of plants but is more of a result of certain qualities a plant may have, such as texture or scent. It is not as hard as you may think to customize your garden with the kinds of plants that are both appealing to you and unappealing to those pesky deer! Below find a chart of plants that may interest you:

 Examples of Deer Resistant Plants

Allium (Allium)	Amsonia (Amsonia tabernaemontana)
Bee Balm (Monarda)	Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)	Catmint (Nepeta)
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum)	Coreopsis (Coreopsis)
Crocosmia (Crocosmia)	Evening Primrose (Oenothera)
Globe Thistle (Echinops bannaticus)	Goldenrod (Solidago)
Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum)	Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum)	Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis)
Lungwort (Pulmonaria)	Ornamental Grasses (Miscanthus sinensis)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)	Red-Hot Poker (Kniphofia)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)	Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)	Thyme (Thymus)
Wild Ginger (Asarum)	Wormwood (Artemisia)

It *is* possible to have beautiful landscaping even if you have deer in your area. Contact Fox Hollow today to get a free consultation on turning your ho-hum yard into a wonderful oasis!

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