Landscaping and Gardening.info

While there is nothing like a beautiful garden, there is also nothing worse than the disappointment of looking out your window and realizing that the local deer just used it as their dinner table. Most people work long and hard to get their garden just the way they like it and having deer destroy it is not something anyone looks forward to. One of the ways that you can protect the garden is by using deer resistant plants.

One quick suggestion before we get into some recommendations would be to also put down some deer repellent. Regardless of how deer resistant a plant is, other plants and the garden in general are still at risk. This added step can often be the difference in them taking what is there or moving on to a different area.

For the most part, plants will fall into four different rankings as they pertain to deer: rarely severely damaged, seldom severely damaged, occasionally severely damaged and frequently severely damaged. The goal is to obviously have as many of the first category as possible to deter the deer from coming around.

Perennials are always a good place to start because so many of them are considered deer resistant plants. Many of the spices that fall into this category and like asparagus to your five year old. Things like Anise, Tarragon and Thyme are all examples of plants that deer want nothing at all to do with.

Shrubs are also regularly found in the top two categories and definitely something that could be used as a border around the garden. Having them around the perimeter along with some of the perennials may be enough to lose their interest. Barberry and Arrowwood Viburnun are among their least favorite.

Various bulbs are also very unattractive to deer. Plants such as Crown Imperial, Daffodil and Autumn Crocus will rarely see damage from the local deer population. On the flip side of the coin, many trees are like candy as far as the deer are concerned. Trees such as the Alternate-Leaved Dogwood and the Atlantic White Cedar will attract them from miles away.

Your local area may be filled with plants that deer love, and if that is the case, it will be a little more difficult to keep them off of your land. It will take a concentrated effort of both deer resistant plants and deer repellent to keep these “harmless” creatures away from your garden and treating it like the “all you can eat” special.

Tags: gardening, garden