by High Country Gardens

Designing Your Garden with Deer Resistant Plants
While no plant is 100% deer proof, there are many varieties that deer are highly unlikely to browse in your garden. You’ll want to select deer resistant plants carefully. Aromatic plants, meaning those with oils in their stems and leaves, will release scent when bent or crushed. These scents, while often pleasant for the gardener, are distasteful to deer, so they are less likely to choose those plants as a snack.
Deer Resistant Perennials and Bulbs
Culinary herbs, such as Sage, Thyme, Rosemary and Lavender, are great choices in offering deer resistance because they have the added bonus of using the harvested herbs for cooking. Other plants well adapted to deter deer with a strong scent include Achillea (Yarrow), Echinacea (Purple Coneflower), Agastache (Hummingbird Mint), and Monarda (Bee Balm).
Don’t overlook spring bulbs when choosing plants for deer resistance. Daffodils, Bearded Iris, Hyacinths, and Muscari offer bright color and delightful fragrance, but are rarely browsed by deer.
Deer Repellants
Tulips are often favored by deer, and unfortunately, once the deer eat the blooms, the tulips won't bloom again until the next spring. If they are a “must have” for your spring garden, you may be able to keep the deer at bay as long as they are planted amid other deer resistant plants. Be sure to treat tulips regularly with a deer repellent, such as our all natural Deer Off, which comes in a spray or concentrated liquid.
Some gardeners have also had success by hanging shiny objects from trees or other garden ornaments. But note that deer can become accustomed to these objects over time.If you want to make sure deer steer clear of your garden, we have hundreds of deer resistant plants and bulbs to choose from.
'Lavender Ice' Ice Plant has large, gorgeous lavender-pink flowers and a tidy mat of evergreen foliage that turns purplish in winter. Drought resistant/drought tolerant plant (xeric)...
Learn MoreLavender Ice Ice Plant Lavender Ice Ice Plant Delosperma Lavender IceAs low as $7.99 Sale $7.59Per Plant - 2.5" Pot'Lavender Ice' Ice Plant has large, gorgeous lavender-pink flowers and a tidy mat of evergreen foliage that turns purplish in winter. Drought resistant/drought tolerant plant (xeric).Learn More'Blut' is one of the very best cold hardy Ice Plants. With its vigorous growth habit, durable evergreen foliage and summer-long display of deep magenta-red flowers, it is an invaluab...
Learn MoreBlut Ice Plant Blut Ice Plant Delosperma ashtonii BlutAs low as $7.99 Sale $7.19Per Plant - 2.5" Pot'Blut' is one of the very best cold hardy Ice Plants. With its vigorous growth habit, durable evergreen foliage and summer-long display of deep magenta-red flowers, it is an invaluable groundcover. Drought resistant/drought tolerant plant (xeric).Learn MoreCommonly known as Poppy Mallow or Wine Cups, Callirhoe involucrata is a native wildflower that decorates the garden with a summer-long display of bright magenta-pink flowers. A spraw...
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Learn MoreYellow Flowering Texas Yucca (Hesperaloe) Yellow Flowering Texas Yucca Hesperaloe parviflora Yellow$12.99 Sale $11.69Sale Price I Save 10%Per Plant - 5" Deep PotYellow Flowering Texas Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora 'Yellow') is a beautiful, uncommon yellow-flowered form of Texas Red Yucca, a low-water garden favorite. Plant it with other Hesperaloes to create superb bi-colored combinations that are sure to draw hummingbirds to your garden.Learn MorePowis Castle is a superb foliage plant with finely textured silver-gray foliage and an attractive mounding habit. Use this plant to accentuate ornamental grasses and other perennials...
Learn MorePowis Castle Artemisia Powis Castle Silver Sage Artemisia Powis CastleAs low as $9.99 Sale $9.49Per Plant - 5" Deep PotPowis Castle is a superb foliage plant with finely textured silver-gray foliage and an attractive mounding habit. Use this plant to accentuate ornamental grasses and other perennials with differently colored foliage. Drought resistant/drought tolerant plant (xeric).Learn MorePerovskia atriplicifolia Blue Spires (Blue Spires Russian Sage) is the best large growing Russian Sage selection blooming with dark blue flower spikes appearing in mid-summer. Though...
Learn MoreBlue Spires Russian Sage Blue Spires Russian Sage Perovskia atriplicifolia Blue Spires$10.99 Sale $10.44Sale Price I Save 5%Per Plant - 5" Deep PotPerovskia atriplicifolia Blue Spires (Blue Spires Russian Sage) is the best large growing Russian Sage selection blooming with dark blue flower spikes appearing in mid-summer. Thought to be a hybrid of two species, this plant has amazing vigor and blooms for many months.Learn MoreSalvia sylvestris ‘May Night’ (May Night Sage) blooms prolifically with deep purple-blue flowers. It is an outstanding perennial with excellent cold hardiness, vigor, and toleran...
Learn MoreMay Night Salvia May Night Meadow Sage Salvia sylvestris May NightAs low as $9.49 Sale $9.02Per Plant - 5" Deep PotSalvia sylvestris ‘May Night’ (May Night Sage) blooms prolifically with deep purple-blue flowers. It is an outstanding perennial with excellent cold hardiness, vigor, and tolerance of heavy clay soils. Blooming in late spring with a profusion of flower spikes, it reblooms later in the summer when deadheaded.Learn MoreMoonshine Yarrow (Achillea Moonshine) is an outstanding perennial plant with silver-gray foliage and lemon-yellow flat-topped flowers that cover the plant all summer. This is a well-...
Learn MoreMoonshine Yarrow Moonshine Yarrow Achillea MoonshineAs low as $8.99 Sale $8.09Per Plant - 5" Deep PotMoonshine Yarrow (Achillea Moonshine) is an outstanding perennial plant with silver-gray foliage and lemon-yellow flat-topped flowers that cover the plant all summer. This is a well-behaved variety, meaning it won't reseed and spread.Learn More
Text by Wendy Hatoum; Customer photo by S. Solomon.
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