Did you know? Will The Deer Eat It?

One of the most frequently asked question in the greenhouse is, “What do you have that deer will not eat?

Many methods are often used to keep deer away from your plants, but most of these solutions are ineffective, expensive, or not distasteful enough to deter the deer. If it has become impossible to keep deer away from your plants, what you may want to do is to plant deer resistant plants. Some flowers, herbs, vegetables and trees are deer resistant.

Some herbs we have in the greenhouse this year that deer are unlikely to eat are basils, dill, lavender, oregano, ginger, chives, peppermint.  Some of the deer resistant flowers we have are African daisies, sweet alyssum, vinca, dusty miller, coneflower, marigolds, geraniums, rudbeckias, sunflowers, snapdragons, zinnias, yarrow, and moss rose. We also have hanging baskets with Chinese bellflower, Swedish ivy, and Joseph’s coat which are all deer resistant. In addition, many of these same plants are also great pollinator plants! 

Keep in mind that deer prefer to graze in the range from a person’s knees to chest.  Plants like hanging baskets or ground covers may escape the deer’s attention.  They don’t like strong scented (mints) or rough textured leaves (sunflowers). Remember, if hungry enough, they will eat things they don’t prefer like daylilies.