When planning a garden in an area frequented by deer, selecting deer-resistant plants can be key to maintaining the beauty and integrity of your landscape. These plants typically have characteristics like strong scents, bitter tastes, or prickly textures that naturally deter deer from browsing. By incorporating such plants into your garden design, you can reduce the damage caused by deer while still enjoying a lush, diverse plant palette.
Deer-resistant plants often rely on their aromatic properties or unpalatable taste to keep deer at bay. Some emit odors that are overwhelming to a deer’s sensitive nose, while others contain compounds that make them less desirable to eat. This natural defense mechanism allows gardeners to create visually appealing landscapes without the constant worry of deer nibbling away at their hard work. However, it’s important to note that in times of scarcity, even these plants might not be entirely safe from deer, as hunger can override their usual preferences.
Creating a garden with deer-resistant plants isn’t just about plant selection; it’s also about strategic garden layout and maintenance. Planting in layers with a mix of textures, heights, and scents can confuse deer, making them less likely to venture deeper into your garden. Additionally, combining these plants with other deterrent methods like physical barriers or repellents can amplify their effectiveness. Understanding local deer behavior and adjusting your gardening practices accordingly, such as by pruning or using companion planting, can further enhance the resilience of your garden against deer browsing.
Deer-Resistant Plants
Lavender
Known for its aromatic fragrance, lavender is a perennial favorite not just for its beauty and calming scent but also because deer generally avoid it. Its strong scent, derived from essential oils in the flowers, makes it less appealing to deer. Lavender thrives in well-drained, sunny locations, making it perfect for borders or rock gardens.
Foxglove
With its tall, spiky flowers, foxglove adds a dramatic flair to any garden. While toxic if ingested, this characteristic also makes it unpalatable to deer. Foxgloves prefer partial shade and can self-seed, providing a continuous display year after year. They’re excellent for adding height and color in woodland or cottage-style gardens.
Daffodils
These spring bloomers are not only among the first to welcome warmer weather but are also deer-resistant due to their alkaloid content, which deer find unpalatable. Daffodils offer a wide range of colors and can naturalize over time, making them ideal for creating lush, low-maintenance beds.
Salvia
Many varieties of salvia, with their vibrant, tubular flowers, are known to be deer-resistant. Their aromatic foliage and the bitterness of the plant deter deer. Salvias come in various sizes and colors, suitable for both borders and containers, thriving in sunny conditions with good drainage.
Russian Sage
This plant produces lovely silver foliage and lavender-blue flowers, creating a beautiful, airy texture in the garden. Russian sage’s scent and bitter taste are what keep deer at bay. It’s drought-tolerant, making it perfect for low-water landscapes or xeriscaping.
Lamb’s Ear
With its soft, silvery leaves, Lamb’s Ear is both ornamental and deer-resistant. The thick, fuzzy texture of the leaves is not appealing to deer, who prefer plants with softer, more palatable foliage. It’s great for ground cover or edging, tolerating both sun and partial shade.
Yarrow
Hardy and with a long blooming season, yarrow is another plant that deer tend to avoid. Its fern-like foliage and flat-topped flower clusters in various colors add visual interest, and its aromatic properties deter browsing. Yarrow is excellent for dry, sunny spots and can attract beneficial insects.
Catmint
Not to be confused with catnip, catmint (Nepeta) has a similar deterrent effect on deer due to its minty aroma. It’s a hardy perennial that forms attractive mounds of gray-green foliage topped with spikes of lavender-blue flowers. Catmint is drought-tolerant and can be used in borders, rock gardens, or as a ground cover.
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
While deer generally avoid butterfly bush due to its scent, it’s a magnet for butterflies and other pollinators. With its arching branches and long, fragrant flower spikes in shades of purple, pink, and white, it adds both beauty and function to the garden. It prefers full sun and well-drained soil.
Bleeding Heart
This plant, with its distinctive, heart-shaped flowers dangling from arching stems, is not only a romantic addition to the garden but also deer-resistant due to its alkaloid content. Bleeding heart thrives in shade or partial shade, making it ideal for woodland gardens or under trees where deer might venture.
Peonies
These perennial beauties are known for their lush, large flowers that come in a spectrum of colors. Peonies have a slightly bitter taste and thick, tough foliage that deer tend to avoid. They are perfect for mixed borders or as focal points in a garden, requiring full sun to bloom at their best.
Ferns
Many types of ferns, especially those with tough, leathery fronds like the Autumn Fern or Lady Fern, are not favored by deer. Ferns thrive in shady, moist locations, making them ideal for woodland gardens or shaded areas where deer might browse. Their lush greenery adds texture and depth to any landscape design.
Barberry
With its spiny branches, barberry serves as a natural barrier against deer. It also has attractive foliage that can vary from green to burgundy or even variegated. Barberry shrubs can be used for hedges, borders, or as standalone features, offering year-round interest with some varieties providing vivid fall colors.
Ornamental Grasses
Many ornamental grasses like Blue Fescue, Fountain Grass, or Maiden Grass are not usually browsed by deer due to their texture and sometimes their taste. These grasses can add movement, texture, and seasonal interest to your garden, with some offering beautiful plumes or changing colors in the fall.
Coreopsis
Known as tickseed, Coreopsis offers bright yellow flowers that attract butterflies while deterring deer with its slightly bitter taste. It’s a hardy perennial that blooms over a long season, perfect for borders, wildflower gardens, or as part of a meadow landscape.
Astilbe
This plant loves shade and moist soil, making it a perfect choice for areas where deer might be a problem. Astilbe’s feathery plumes of flowers come in various colors, adding a splash of color to the often darker, shadier parts of a garden. The plant’s fuzzy, fern-like foliage seems unappetizing to deer.
Hellebores
Also known as Lenten Roses, Hellebores bloom early in the year, often when little else is flowering, providing color in late winter or early spring. Their thick, leathery leaves and the alkaloids within them make them less appealing to deer. They’re excellent for ground cover under trees or in shaded borders.
Boxwood
This evergreen shrub is often used for formal gardens, topiary, or hedging due to its dense, fine foliage. Boxwood’s strong scent and dense growth make it less desirable to deer. It’s a versatile plant that can define garden spaces year-round.
Lupine
With their tall spikes of pea-like flowers, Lupines add vertical interest and come in a range of colors. They contain alkaloids that deer find unpalatable. Lupines prefer well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade, making them excellent for wildflower gardens or cottage-style landscapes.
Geranium (Hardy)
Not to be confused with the annual Pelargonium, hardy geraniums, or cranesbills, are low-growing perennials that spread nicely, offering long-lasting blooms. Their pungent leaves and tough texture are generally avoided by deer. They’re great for ground cover, borders, or as an underplanting for roses or shrubs.
Iris
Known for their striking, often sword-shaped leaves and beautiful flowers, irises are usually left alone by deer. The rhizomes of some irises can be mildly toxic, deterring deer from nibbling. Irises come in numerous varieties, suitable for both water gardens and traditional landscapes, providing vibrant color in spring or summer.
Juniper
This coniferous plant offers both texture and color variety, from creeping ground covers to tall, upright shrubs. Junipers have needle-like foliage with a scent that deer find unappealing. They’re drought-resistant, making them excellent for xeriscaping or as a low-maintenance option for borders, ground cover, or erosion control.
Potentilla (Cinquefoil)
With its long blooming season and shrub-like growth, Potentilla provides small, bright flowers in shades of yellow, orange, pink, or white. Its foliage and flowers are not favored by deer. It’s hardy, drought-tolerant, and can be used in borders, as an accent plant, or in mass plantings.
Sedum (Stonecrop)
These succulents are known for their fleshy leaves and star-shaped flowers. Sedums, especially the taller varieties like ‘Autumn Joy’, are generally deer-resistant due to their texture and the slightly bitter taste of their foliage. They’re excellent for rock gardens, borders, or as ground cover where they can also help manage soil erosion.
Sage (Salvia)
While already mentioned, it’s worth noting again that many species of Sage, beyond culinary uses, are deer-resistant due to their aromatic leaves and bitter taste. Ornamental sages like Salvia nemorosa or Salvia microphylla can add vibrant colors and textures to your garden, thriving in sunny, well-drained locations.
Bee Balm (Monarda)
With its showy, pom-pom flowers, Bee Balm attracts pollinators but repels deer with its strong, minty fragrance. It’s a perennial that does well in both full sun and partial shade, making it versatile for different garden settings. It can be used in cottage gardens or to add height and color to borders.
Pachysandra
As a ground cover, Pachysandra is invaluable for areas where deer might forage, especially under trees or in shaded spots. Its evergreen leaves and slow, dense growth make it unappealing to deer. It’s perfect for creating a lush carpet in areas where grass struggles to grow.
Baptisia (False Indigo)
With its pea-like flowers and attractive seed pods, Baptisia adds structure and color to a garden. Its deep root system and bitter foliage make it less palatable to deer. It’s a hardy perennial that can be a focal point in a sunny border or meadow garden.
Spirea
This flowering shrub comes in various forms, from low-growing ground covers to taller varieties. Spirea’s foliage and flowers have a fragrance and taste that deer generally avoid. It’s adaptable to different soils and light conditions, offering blooms in spring or summer, making it a versatile choice for any landscape.
Vinca (Periwinkle)
Known for its glossy, evergreen foliage and blue or purple flowers, Vinca minor is an excellent ground cover for shaded areas where deer might roam. Its toughness and slightly bitter taste deter browsing. Vinca is perfect for underplanting or creating a low-maintenance carpet of greenery.