Dazzling Deer-Resistant Perennials

Repel deer without sacrificing color and contrast in your garden

Though very graceful and delightful to behold in their native habitat , deer are a rapacious strength to reckon with in many Northern California gardens , particularly in summertime and dip . In early summer vernal fawns are beginning to taste pretty much any plant they stumble across , and in autumn intellectual nourishment is scarcer and rival higher . Love them or hardly tolerate them , these wonderful creature can have a lot of harm to a dear landscape in a very short period of prison term ; fortuitously there are so many tried and true and honest ways of life and gardening alongside them that I have a hard time forebode them true pests .

The most foolproof method acting of ensuring that your garden is innocent of deer is raise a jump - proof fence that is at least 9 feet marvelous . This can be quite an expensive and metre - consuming undertaking ! Sprays and repellent can be helpful but need to be applied on a regular basis — specially during the rainy season — to be truly effective . Fortunately , there are several highly ornamental trees , shrubs , perennial , and yearly that cervid incline to avoid that are perfect for planting in areas where you bonk they ’re most potential to browse . While seldom altogether deer - proof ( see the above extension to fawns and sampling ) , the follow perennial and combinations are among my favorites for beat back cervid .

Poquito ™ nanus hummingbird mint(Agastache‘Butter Yellow ’ , Zones 5–10 ) has bushy , upright , Malus pumila green , and extremely aromatic leafage that highlight its butter yellow blooms . Hummingbirds , bee , and butterflies LOVE this floriferous perennial , flocking to the peak capitulum during its extended flush period — June 21 through fall . Dwarf hummingbird mint is drought tolerant and work out as well in container as it does in the landscape . It also looks lovely in sassy or dried flower arrangement . It will grow between 15 and 18 inch improbable and wide in full sun and favour well - drained , nicely amend soil and moderate to wakeful irrigation . Combine it with ‘ Lollipop ’ vertical verbena ( Verbena bonariensis‘Lollipop ’ , Zones 7–10 ) and Kismet ® crimson coneflower ( Echinacea ‘ TNECHKRD ’ , Zones 4–9 ) in your sunny boundary line for a delicious and colorful compounding .

Angel Wings ® cold miller(Senecio candicans‘Sneaw ’ , geographical zone 8–11 ) is an challenging , newly introduced plant with vivid , silvern - white , heart - shape leave loosely arrange in a multilayered rosette . Though it does n’t bloom , Angel Wings ® brings dramatic event , social structure , color , and grain to your sunny margin and will highlight and contrast beautifully with almost any other Dominicus - love perennial , one-year , or succulent . Working as well in a container as it does in the garden , this mounding , slow unfold mantrap grows 12 to 14 column inch tall , prefers full sun and well - drain ground , and has even to lightheaded irrigation requirements . Try it with Blackbird spurge ( Euphorbia‘Nothowlee ’ , Zones 6–9 ) and ‘ Angelina ’ stonecrop ( Sedum rupestre‘Angelina ’ , zone 5–8 ) for a peculiarly sensational compounding .

‘ Summer Sunshine ’ creeping germander(Teucrium chamaedrys‘Summer Sunshine ’ , Zones 4–9 ) has fragrant , bright chartreuse leaf . This low - growing germander is covered with dainty bloom spikes fill with rosy purple bloom from late spring through summer , much to the delight of passing pollinator . Quite drouth - large-minded once established , this various perennial can be used as a pocket-sized - scale footing cover perfect for edging sunny walkways , and performs equally well in assorted containers . Reaching 6 to 8 inches tall and spreading nicely , ‘ Summer Sunshine ’ prefers full sun , regular to wanton watering , and well - drained filth . If you ’re look for cervid - resistant companions for your sunny germander , consider ‘ Elijah ’s Blue ’ blueish meadow fescue ( Festuca glauca‘Elijah ’s Blue ’ , Zones 4–8 ) for color and textural contrast , with ‘ Tequila Sunrise ’ mirror plant ( Comprosma‘Tequila Sunrise ’ , Zones 8–10 ) defecate the perfect backcloth .

‘ Jack Frost ’ brunnera(Brunnera macrophylla‘Jack Frost ’ , Zones 3–8 ) is a shade lover adored for its spectacularly heart - shape , frosted , silvery leaves . Each leaf is in an elaborate way veined and butt against with emerald green , and its delightful display of treat , sky - blue , block - me - not flowers flush in spring . witching and easy to spring up , ‘ Jack Frost ’ is wintertime - dormant in most parts of Northern California but brightens up your shaded perennial seam or woodland garden from early outpouring through late fall ; it will graciously naturalize if allow . It can reach a foundation tall and a petty more than a human foot astray , with airy blooms arching 6 to 8 inch higher than the silvery foliation . This smasher value well - drained , amended soil , with regular to light water give way the best outcome . Need a couple of shadiness - have it off , deer - resistant companions for your ‘ Jack Frost ’ ? ‘ Obsidian ’ genus Heuchera ( Heuchera‘Obsidian ’ , Zones 4–9 ) and tassel fern ( Polystichum polyblepharum , zone 5–8 ) are great pick .

— Fionuala Campion is the proprietor and coach of Cottage Gardens of Petaluma in Petaluma , California .

all right Gardening Recommended Products

Lee Valley Garden Obelisks

Fine Gardening pick up a commission for items purchased through inter-group communication on this site , include Amazon Associates and other affiliate publicizing programs .

Johnny ’s Selected Seeds Connecta ® Cultivation Kit

D&X Garden Sprinkler

Get our latest lead , how - to articles , and instructional video sent to your inbox .

Signing you up …

A Garden Plan for a Beautiful, Deer-Resistant Border

Episode 155: Deer-Resistant Favorites

Deer-Resistant Combinations

A Design That Defies Deer and Drought

link Fine horticulture for a free engaging live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant pathologist as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I spotted a particular sand dollar bill cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in difficulty . With a delightful colour radiation pattern …

When we only prioritize plant we want over works our landscape indigence , each time of year is filled with a never - ending leaning of chores : pruning , tweet , lacrimation , treating , repair , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be heedful when you enter the backyard of garden fashion designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re potential to touch off on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …