Deer-resistant
Deer-Resistant Plants That Actually Flower
No plant is truly deer-proof, but plenty are reliably deer-resistant. Here is how to keep the colour and lose the heartbreak.
If deer pass through your garden, you already know the heartbreak of a border eaten to the ground overnight. The good news is that deer are picky, and you can stack the odds heavily in your favour by leaning on plants they dislike, without giving up colour.
Why deer skip certain plants
Deer avoid plants by smell, taste, and texture. Strongly aromatic foliage, the kind found on many herbs and aromatic perennials, tends to get passed over, along with bitter or milky sap, fuzzy or coarse leaves, and tough, leathery foliage. Heavily fragrant flowers can deter them too.
Resistant, not proof
A hungry deer in a hard winter will test almost anything. But planting mostly from the resistant list, especially around the edges where deer browse first, dramatically cuts the damage.
Aromatic plants deer tend to avoid
These are the anchors of a deer-resistant border. They are aromatic, mostly drought-tolerant, and they flower for a long stretch, which means colour and protection from the same plants.
Deer avoid the scent, the oils, and the silvery foliage entirely. For you, weeks of fragrant purple flowers on a tough, sun-loving plant. Ideal along the edges.
Aromatic silver stems and a violet-blue haze all summer, ignored by deer and rabbits.
Fragrant foliage and a long haze of lavender-blue flowers that deer reliably skip.
Aromatic leaves and deep violet spikes that rebloom and that deer leave alone.
Pungent, ferny foliage and flat flower heads in many shades, rarely browsed.
Minty, aromatic leaves deer dislike, topped with shaggy flowers bees and hummingbirds love.
Flowers and bulbs they tend to leave
Beyond the aromatic anchors, several favourites are usually safe. Daffodils in particular are mildly toxic to deer, which is why they come back year after year while tulips nearby get eaten.
Onion-family bulbs deer avoid, with bold purple spheres in late spring and great seed heads.
Reliably deer-proof spring bulbs that naturalise into bigger drifts each year.
Tall, dramatic spires of bells that deer pass over, perfect at the back of a border.
Lush, fragrant late-spring flowers on a long-lived plant deer rarely touch.
Soft, woolly silver leaves with a texture deer dislike, useful as a front-of-border edge.
Arching stems of locket flowers for shade, generally left alone by browsing deer.
Build a border they tend to ignore
Anchor the planting with aromatic, tough-leaved perennials, then weave in resistant bloomers for colour through the season. Put the most resistant plants on the outside, where deer browse first, and tuck anything more tempting toward the protected interior. Use the bloom calendar to keep colour coming the whole season from resistant plants, so you are never tempted to slot in something the deer will treat as a salad bar.
What is the most deer-resistant flowering plant?
Strongly aromatic perennials like lavender, russian sage, catmint, and salvia are among the most reliable, because the scent and oils put deer off. Daffodils are the most deer-proof spring bulb.
Are any plants completely deer-proof?
No. Resistant is the honest word. A hungry deer in a hard winter will sample almost anything, but a border built mostly from resistant plants will see very little damage.
How do I protect a border deer keep eating?
Plant the most resistant, aromatic species around the outer edge where deer browse first, and keep more tempting plants toward the interior. Repeating fragrant plants throughout helps mask the rest.
Design a garden with these plants
Open BloomsEye Studio with this guide's plants ready to drop onto a plan, then watch the whole bed bloom across the year.