Deer Resistant Flowers

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It’s the time of year when people are trying to plant a flower garden that won’t be decimated by the deer. I’ve seen deer, both whitetail and muledeer, eat practically everything, including Sweet Annie (Artemesia annua) and native junipers. There is hope for those who want to have spectacular flowers. You simply have to do your best to plant what they won’t eat, or at least what they won’t eat very much.

Here are some of my favorites in the flower department:

Daffodils – While deer eat tulips like a favorite treat, the happy looking daffodils bloom without being touched.

Scilla – Little, blue bell-shaped flowers are gorgeous, especially in a woodland setting, and the deer typically turn their noses up at them.

Bachelor’s Button – Once you have Bachelor’s Buttons planted, they will reseed for you year after year. Besides making pretty bouquets, they are excellent to have in the garden to attract honey bees and other pollinators.

Basket-of-Gold Alyssum – Bright and fragrant, basket-of-gold is an exceptional early spring flower.

Lavender Catmint – Mounds of lavender colored flowers are one of the first blooms of the spring garden after the tulips. The only caution to growing lavender catnip is you want to be sure to cut the flowers before they have a chance to go to seed, or you will have it everywhere.

Bleeding Heart – My friend’s chickens ate hers to the ground, but as of yet, I have never had an issue with the deer. Bleeding hearts prefer partial shade, although they really will grow most anywhere and are beautiful in the late spring.

Yarrow – The astringent flowers and leaves are not appealing to deer even if they are beautiful to have in the garden. The flowers come in colors ranging from pretty pastels in pinks and yellows to fire red blooms.

Marigolds – Many people have heard that you should plant marigolds to discourage bugs or rabbits. Marigolds won’t discourage deer from stepping right over them to eat anything else in the garden that appeals to them. However, they typically won’t eat the marigolds making them a cheerful choice for a cutting garden.

Peonies – For all of my years of growing flowers with deer waiting to grab a bite, they’ve never eaten the peonies. They are one of my favorites, even though my sister is terribly allergic to them, so I love to have a lot of them in the garden. (And I’m not being mean since she doesn’t live nearby.)

Salvia – My father grew large beds of red salvia every year without a problem. I don’t remember ever having an issue with the blue salvia we used to grow for dried arrangements. The same goes for the perennial varieties. They fit nicely in either a traditional perennials bed, or in a cutting garden.

Echinacea – Valued for its medicinal qualities of boosting the immune system, as well as being a good plant to provide seeds for birds in the fall and winter. It makes an attractive, straight-stemmed flower for a bouquet, and is not appealing to deer.

Coreopsis – A sunny flower that adds cheer to a bouquet. It will also brighten the garden since the deer won’t mow it to the ground.

Ageratum – Purple and kind of fuzzy looking, ageratum match well with bright flowers in the garden. They also hold up very well in a vase.

Oriental Poppy – Poppies green up as soon as the snow melts away. They give us gorgeous, big blooms by early summer. The good news is even though they look delicate and downright tasty, the deer don’t think so. I think it’s the sap in the stems that makes the less appealing.

Bee Balm – This is another excellent cut flower with nice, straight stems. Hummingbirds and butterflies may love them, but thankfully deer don’t.

This is nowhere near a complete list, but it certainly gives you hope. So even if deer make you feel like you want to give up, incorporate some – or all – of these plants into your cutting garden and enjoy gorgeous blooms throughout the season.

Meet Amy Grisak

Amy is a freelance author and photographer in Great Falls, MT who specializes in gardening, foods, and sustainable agriculture. She provides information on every kind…

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