Deer- & Rabbit-Resistant Flowers

Some gardeners plant whatever they like and then implement measures to keep hungry critters out of the garden -- or at least away from their favorite flowers. To that end, gardeners turn to fencing, repellents and, in the case of rabbits, trapping the offenders. A more natural and perhaps more effective solution is to populate your garden with deer- and rabbit-resistant flowers.

The diets of both deer and rabbits may change from year to year, depending on the availability of their preferred food in the wild. Within a given year, temperature, rainfall amounts and even taste preferences can fluctuate as well. It's difficult for a gardener to know with any certainty which plants will be at risk and which will be left alone.

In general, the plants animals tend to avoid have strong smells, are poisonous, have thorns or other unpleasant textures, or produce milky sap. Younger plants, especially those that were just planted, are often likely targets -- even if they repel rabbits and deer when they are fully grown.

There is no guarantee that deer or rabbits won't choose to eat specific flowers. Rather than considering which plants deer and rabbit will or won't eat, it's best to think in terms of how often or how severely plants might be damaged.

You don't have to completely avoid flowers that tend to suffer significant damage from deer and rabbits. Go ahead and plant a few flowers on the "risky" list, but plant more of the plants that are rarely damaged. To decrease the likelihood of losing your favorites, include a wide variety of flowers in large numbers.

Tulips are a favorite spring snack for both deer and rabbits. Bulb flowers that they tend to ignore include autumn crocus, bluebell, fritillaria, daffodil, ornamental onion, Siberian squill, snowdrops and winter aconite.

Annuals and biennials that are rarely damaged include ageratum, angel's trumpet, anise, annual vinca, dusty miller, false chamomile, flowering tobacco, forget-me-not, foxglove, heliotrope, larkspur, poppy, pot marigold, snapdragon, snow-on-the-mountain, spider flower, strawflower and sweet alyssum.

Perennial flowers that deer and rabbits usually avoid include anise hyssop, basket of gold, bigleaf goldenray, bleeding heart, buttercup, common tansy, corydalis, dame's rocket, European ginger, false indigo, germander, Greek Jerusalem sage, hyssop, iris, Jack-in-the-pulpit, lamb's ear, lavender, Lenten rose, lily of the valley, mayapple, meadow rue, monkshood, peony, potentilla, rock cress, ligularia, rose campion, Russian sage, santolina, Siberian bugloss, small globe thistle, spurge, statice, threadleaf coreopsis and yucca.