Deer are adorable...except when they are devouring your garden plants that you have invested so much time and money into creating your gorgeous yard.
There are no absolutely deer proof plants, if food is scarce, they will try to eat anything to survive. That being said, there are many plants that are less palatable for reasons of taste and texture.
Many deer resistant plants have fuzzy or scratchy leaves, strongly scented foliage or a foul taste, in some cases poisonous. These plants are sometimes sampled and then spit out by deer. Spiny or thorny plants and shrubs are also not attractive to deer. If your garden has several of these less attractive plants the deer will hopefully move on to tastier gardens.
If you have a lot of tasty plants or garden vegetables, fencing is an option. The fence would have to be 6 – 7 feet high or more, or two lower fences close together, so the deer are worried about getting trapped between fences. The fence would have to be secured at ground level to prevent deer from wriggling underneath.
We have come up with a list of perennials that are generally quite hardy in our climate and that we grow at our greenhouse. This is not an all-inclusive list, as there are numerous perennials available and some may be hardy in a zone 4 sheltered yard. There are also new hybrids within the genus, so read the tags to determine the hardiness in our zone (anything zone 1,2,3 is generally a good choice). This list will hopefully give you a starting point as you plan your garden.
Deer Resistant Perennials
For Full to Partial Sun
| Genus | Common Name |
| Achillea millefolium | Yarrow |
| Ajuga reptans | Bugleweed |
| Alchemilla mollis | Lady's Mantle |
| Allium | Wild onion |
| Anenome | Windflower |
| Aquilegia vulgaris | Columbine |
| Artemesia schmid. | Silver Mound |
| Asclepias incarnata | Butterfly Weed |
| Baptisia australis | Blue False Indigo |
| Campanula carpatica & glomer | Bellflower |
| Centaura montana | Corn Flower |
| Chelone obliqua | Turtlehead |
| Coreopsis | Tickseed |
| Delosperma | Hardy Ice Plant |
| Delphinium | Larkspur |
| Dianthus | Pink |
| Dictamnus | Gas Plant |
| Echinacea purpurea | Cone Flower |
| Echinops ritro | Globe Thistle |
| Eryngium alpinum | Sea Holly |
| Eupatropium mac. | Joe Pye Weed |
| Filipendula | Meadowsweet |
| Gaillardia | Blanket Flower |
| Geranium cinereum & himalay | Cranesbill |
| Grasses | varieties: Andropogon, Calamagrostis,Carex,Festuca,Phalaris |
| Iberis sempervirens | Candytuft |
| Iris germanica | Bearded Iris |
| Iris pallida | Dalmation Iris |
| Iris pumila | Dwarf Bearded Iris |
| Iris pseudacorus | Flag Iris |
| Iris siberica | Siberian Iris |
| Lupinus | Lupin |
| Monarda | Bee Balm |
| Paeonia | Peony |
| Papaver nudicaule | Iceland Poppy |
| Papaver orientale | Oriental Poppy |
| Rudbeckia fulgida | Cone Flower |
| Salvia nemerosa | Sage |
| Tradescantia | Spiderwort |
| Veronica spicata | Speedwell |
For Shade to Partial Shade
| Genus | Common Name |
| Aconitum | Monkshood |
| Actaea | Bugbane |
| Agopodium | Goutweed |
| Aralia cordata | Japanese Spikenard |
| Aruncus | Goat's Beard |
| Asarum | Hardy Ginger |
| Astilbe | Garden Astilbe |
| Astrantia major | Masterwort |
| Bergenia | Heartleaf, Cabbage Leaf |
| Brunnera macrophylla | Siberian Bugloss |
| Convallaria majalis | Lily of the Valley |
| Dicentra spectabilis | Common Bleeding Heart |
| Dicentra formosa | Fern Leaf Bleeding Heart |
| Fern Adiantum pedatum | Maidenhair Fern |
| Fern Atyrium filix-femina | Lady Fern |
| Fern Atyrium niponium | Japanese Painted Fern |
| Fern Dryopteris marginalis | Leather Wood Fern |
| Fern Matteuccia struthiopteris | Ostrich Feather Fern |
| Fern Osmunda cinnamomea | Cinnamon Fern |
| Fern Osmunda regalis | Royal Fern |
| Fern Phylllitis scolopendrium | Hart's Tongue Fern |
| Heuchera (some varieties) | Coral Bells |
| Ligularia dentata | Golden Groundsel |
| Ligularia przewalskii | Golden Ray |
| Polemonium | Jacob's Ladder |
| Polygonatum multiflorum | Solomon's Seal |