No plant, it seems to those of us plagued with deer, can be called really deer proof. For example, fauns nibble on just about anything until they learn what they really enjoy. Also, rabbits nibble on a lot of plants and we sometimes think it is deer when it really is Peter!
The list that follows, however, contains some plants that deer usually avoid in my yard:
Cleome
Four o'clocks
Verbena
Heliotrope
Globe thistle
Goat's Beard
Coreopsis
Verbascum
Jacob's ladder
Monarda
Ajuga
Lily of the valley
Winter aconite
Lavender and other herbs
Snowdrops
Daffodils
Hellebores
Also, I have never seen them eat any kind of iris.
Each summer, I plant a bed of annuals that includes:
Angelonia
Salvia (both annual and perennial types)
Zinnias
Cosmos
Marigolds
Gomphrena
Vinca
The timing is also a factor in what my deer eat. I have found that in the early spring when there are plenty of fresh green leafy plants in my beds, the deer avoid my hosta, but in July, they eat every one of them to the ground.
When it is a long, hot, dry summer, they love the plants we so carefully water, as they have plenty of fresh delectable foliage. I have tried to trick Bambi by planting things they like close to bigger plants they dislike. It rarely works.
Take advantage of sales to buy deer-resistant plants that will reward you next year.
This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on usually deer proof.
