Plants that deer don't eat
Looking out of the window in the mornings and seeing a family of roe deer on the lawn sounds idyllic.
In fact, it is idyllic until you realise that they love to eat your favourite flowers - the prettier the flower, the tastier it is. The deer are undeterred by thorns and prickles and will come right up to the door to munch on their best delicacy - roses.
After 20 (expensive) years of trying to outwit these animals, I have decided that the best approach is to plant flowers and shrubs that the deer do not like.
The list below is a combination of trial and error and research on the Internet. I cannot guarantee that these plants will remain untouched but if you have a problem with deer in your garden, then they are worth a try.
Common Name | Scientific Name |
Agave and Cactus | |
Anise Hyssop | Agastache |
Archange | Lamiastrum and Lamium |
Bamboo | |
Barberry | Berberis |
Bears Breeches | Acanthus |
Bishops Hat | Epimedium |
Beebalm | Monarda |
Bleeding Heart | Dicentra |
Bluebells | Hyacinthoides |
Blue Fescue Grass | |
Blue Star | Amsonia |
Butterfly Bush | Buddleia |
Butterfly Flower | Asclepias |
Californian Lilac | Ceanothus, small-leaved only |
Caryopteris | |
Catmint | Nepeta |
Clematis | |
Comfrey | Symphytum |
Cotoneaster | |
Crimson Bottlebrush | Callistemon |
Daffodils | Narcissus |
False Indigo | Baptisia |
False Solomon's Seal | Smilacina |
Feather Reed Grass | Calamagrostis |
Ferns | most, except Japanese Silver Painted |
Fountain Grass | Pennisetum |
Foxglove | Digitalis |
Gas Plant | Dictamnus |
Germander | Teucrium |
Ginger | Asarum |
Goatsbeard | Aruncus |
Hardy Cyclamen | |
Hardy Geraniums | especially Geranium macrorrhizum |
Heather | Erica |
Hellebores | Helleborus |
Hyacinth | |
Hydrangea | |
Iris | especially Bearded Iris |
Jack-in-the-pulpit | Arisaemia triphyllum |
Lamb's Ears | Stachys lanata |
Lavender | Lavandula |
Lavender Cotton | Santolina |
Lilac | Syringa |
Lily of the Nile | Agapanthus |
Lily of the Valley | Convallaria |
London Pride | Saxifraga x urbium |
Lungwort | Pulmonaria |
Mahonia | |
Miscanthus Grass | |
Mondo Grass | Ophiopogon |
Monkshood | Aconitum |
Montbretia | Crocosmia |
Mountain Balm | Calamintha |
Ornamental Onion | Allium |
Ornamental Oregano | |
Ornamental Rhubarb | Rheum |
Pachysandra | |
Pampas Grass | Cortaderia |
Peonies | Paeonia |
Penstemon | |
Periwinkle | Vinca |
Plumbago | Ceratostigma |
Potentilla | |
Red Hot Poker | Kniphofia |
Rhododendron | |
Rose Campion | especially Lychnis coronaria |
Rosemary | |
Rudbeckia Fulgida | |
Russian Sage | Pervoskia |
Salvias and sages | |
Scilla | |
Snowdrops | Galanthus nivalis |
Soapwort | Saponaria |
Spiderwort | Tradescantia |
Spiraea | |
Spurge | Euphorbia |
St. John's Wort | Hypericum |
Sweet Woodruff | Asperula |
Tansy | |
Thyme | |
Tickseed | Coreopsis |
Waterlily | Colchicum |
Wormwood | Artemisia |
Yarrow | Achillea |
Yucca |
Many of the plants in this list were suggested in a gardening forum on the Wild About Britain web site, for which many thanks. Others were recommended by friends or found by trial and error in our English Country Garden.