There are few heartbreaks in gardening quite like finding nothing but bare, chewed-off stems. Usually, it is the local deer that does the most damage. We love our local wildlife, but we’d rather they didn’t use our landscape and crops for food. The truth is, “deer-proof” is a myth because if a deer is starving enough in the dead of winter, it will eat just about anything. But in the growing season, deer are surprisingly picky eaters. They rely on their senses of smell, touch, and taste to decide what to fill up on.
If we want to protect our landscapes from deer grazing, we have to build a defense using plants they naturally despise. Here is a guide to outsmarting the herd by using their own preferences against them.
- The Strong Scents
Deer have a sensitive sense of smell. Before they even take a bite, they sniff. If a plant has an overwhelming, pungent, or heavily herbal fragrance, they will usually walk right past it.
- Catmint: Crush a leaf between your fingers, and you’ll get a sharp, minty smell. While cats might love it, that intense smell is overwhelming to a deer.
- Bee Balm: Another member of the mint family, this beautiful native plant offers a heavy, herbal fragrance that keeps grazing deer away while drawing in hummingbirds and bees.
- Russian Sage: With its silvery foliage and purple blooms, this plant surrounds itself in a strong herbal scent that deer dislike.
- The Rough Textures
Just imagine the feeling of trying to eat a wool sweater or a mouthful of sandpaper. You might do it if you had to survive, but of course, we prefer other options. Deer hate weird textures just as much as we do. If a leaf is hairy, bristly, or coarse, they’ll spit it right out for something else.
- Coneflower: Beautiful to look at, but those spiky, stiff seed heads and bristly leaves are incredibly unappetizing to a browsing deer.
- Black-eyed Susan: Run your hand along the stem and leaves; you’ll feel the coarse, rough hairiness that acts as a natural deterrent.
- Blanket Flower: Bright, cheerful color, yet armed with a surprisingly rough texture that protects it from predators.
- The Toxic Sap
Mother Nature is brilliant. Many plants have evolved to survive by tasting terrible or carrying a mildly toxic sap. Deer have an instinct that usually tells them to steer clear of these bitter tastes.
- Peony: The big blooms from the spring garden. Fortunately for us, deer find the foliage incredibly bitter and unfavorable.
- Hellebores: Also known as Lenten Roses, these shade-lovers feature tough, leathery leaves that are also highly toxic if eaten. Deer know to leave them alone.
- False Indigo (Baptisia): This stunning, shrub-like flowering perennial contains mildly toxic alkaloids that make it a terrible snack.
- Iris: Both the leaves and the underground rhizomes carry toxins that keep the deer herd away.
- The Tough Bites
Deer are looking for soft, tender greens that are easy to chew and digest. If a plant requires too much work, they won’t bother. We can use fibrous, rubbery, or wiry plants to build a tough-to-chew barrier.
- Monkey Grass & Coreopsis (Tickseed): Between the tough, fibrous blades of the grass and the wiry stems of the Coreopsis, these are too much work for a quick meal.
- Vinca & Ajuga (Bugleweed): Both of these groundcovers grow too low to the ground for comfortable grazing and feature tough, leathery leaves.
- Hens & Chicks & Ice Plant: Thick, fleshy, rubbery, and unappealing to a browsing deer.
“Deer Candy” (Proceed with Caution)
Now that we know what they hate, we have to talk about what they love. If you are struggling with heavy deer traffic, you must recognize your garden’s vulnerabilities. Planting these is essentially ringing the dinner bell.
- Hosta: The ultimate deer food. To a deer, a lush shade garden full of hostas is going to look like a bowl of potato chips with your name on it.
- Daylilies: A massive favorite. Deer will often eat the beautiful blooms from the top and the foliage all the way down to the crown.
- Princess Lily (Alstroemeria): Soft, tender, and delicious to deer. These won’t stand a chance without a tall fence or physical barrier to keep them away.
The secret to a peaceful, problem-free garden isn’t fighting nature; it’s just outsmarting it. By filling your beds with the rough, the fragrant, and the tough, you can keep the deer running by instead of stopping at your spot.