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They are so cute when they are little.

Gardening in Deer Country

You Can Garden In Deer Country!

It is all about selecting plants that deer do not find delicious. True enough I cannot guarantee that deer will not browse some of these plants. When deer are without options, they may be forced to eat anything suggesting the color green.

Deer pressure is intensifying and although I cannot solve that dilemma, I can help you select fabulous, garden worthy plants that the deer typically do not find enticing. Let's select plants for your garden based on how much sun they are exposed to. We call a garden "sunny" if it gets afternoon sun or 6 hours or more.

I have selected some easy to grow, evergreen shrubs suitable for the home landscape, many will thrive in part shade to shade as well. Inkberry holly, Mahonia and Boxwood are all great performers. They are part of the broadleaf varieties making excellent foundation plantings. Their leaves are flat and wider than a needled plant (think junipers). I love the cherry laurel shrub that comes in 2 varieties. One grows to 12 feet, the other is an obedient 4ft shrub. Both have white bottle brush flowers in the spring. Their leaves are broad and remind me of magnolias. Nandinas are an excellent selection with 4 solid seasons of interest. Large white spring blossoms, delicate oval summer leaves on graceful stems, then heaps of berries in the fall and bright fall color. How can such a plant exist that gives so much gardening joy? You can see a pair of them on either side of the steps to the porch of Grassroots on Old Lancaster Pike. Any of the listed plants would look great planted together or pick one and plant individually or even in a mass.

Now for a needled plant that grows in sun or shade and deer rarely touch. Plum yews are fabulous distinctive plants that grow in sun or shade and remind me of a yew on steroids with big, soft green needles. Many junipers and spruces defy deer also.

Some shrubs we grow primarily for their flowers, and many of them are nearly deer proof . In order of bloom time, try forsythia for early spring, then quince with its bright red and pink blossoms. Brooms come next with sweet pea like flowers covering their stems. Moving towards summer you can have constant flowering as the spireas start to bloom, viburnums and sweet shrubs follow. Many lilacs are ignored by the deer and produce those heavenly fragrant flowers for cutting or just dawdling near. Potentilla is a drought tolerant flowering shrub that blooms for a long stretch in mid summer, available in a variety of colors. Late summer pee-gee hydrangeas seem to be overlooked by deer perhaps because there is more to eat in their environment. The giant pendulous flowers of the pee-gee hydrangea unfold white and evolve to a tender, delicate pink that makes us all think of our beloved grandmothers as we cut the blossoms for a bowl of dried flowers for the dining room table. Mine often linger till Christmas;inside that is!

Sun loving perennial flowers that reward us with endless blooms are the perennial coreopsis and pin cushion flower. These 2 plants alone will color your garden from June till late frost. Mix in some taller lavenders and the bountiful catmint for a stunning blend of purples and yellow. The taller shasta daisies and irises are also typically ignored by the deer.

Many of the listed plants are also natives and well suited to our soils and climates. This means easy to grow and pest free! To add even more benefit, many of the flowering plants listed provide nectar for butterflies or critical habitat for their evolution. One of my favorite combos is the bright orange butterfly weed, combined with the fluffy yellow of coreopsis. Add a grass for a little height and movement in the breeze and I am sure your neighbors will be impressed.

Just Say No!