After we had our rock wall built in the front yard and removed all the large juniper bushes and the thicket of overgrown shrubs and volunteer plants, I vowed to only plant perennials that would not take over the gardening area. I also consciously tried to select perennials that would attract pollinators (natives where possible - I'm educating myself on natives here in northwest WA). We also consciously chose a house without grass in the yard because I spent many man hours mowing and trimming very large lots over the years and I vowed to never do that again. Because my neighborhood has a large deer population, I made it a point to only purchase those perennials defined by the growers and the nurseries as deer resistant. I'm sharing my experience so my gardening friends who share their neighborhood with deer can make more informed plant choices.
Two Mother Does each with a set of twins (all six are in the photo).
A different Mother Doe with her single fawn that walked through prior to the six above.
I am going to divide this post into two sections. Those perennials that were labeled as 1) deer resistant; and those perennials that 2) deer won't touch. Many of these perennials are drought tolerant and I was able to grow several of them in north Texas. Both Sequim, WA and north TX are Zone 8 which is determined by the the lowest freezing temperatures in the area. However, Dallas, Texas gets over twice the annual rainfall (38") as opposed to Sequim, WA (which gets about 16" per year). Drought tolerance is a good thing in my specific location, although that is not the case for much of the Olympic Peninsula (think rainforest). We just happen to be in the Olympic rainshadow and information on that is linked below. Of course north Texas turns into a fiery hell furnace from early May through the end of October which is definitely different than Sequim's heavenly summer temperatures. I have learned each area has pluses and minuses for growing certain types of plants. Neither one is absolutely perfect for everything. I will say in my personal opinion, northwest Washington is definitely superior overall.
http://www.olympicrainshadow.com/olympicrainshadowmap.html
1) The following perennials are defined as "deer resistant". However, deer seem to eat them anyway, regardless of what the nursery tag says.
This Peony had only two beautiful blooms this year. The new bud shown here was eaten disappeared the following day. At least the deer did not eat the leaves.
This Penstemon (beardtongue) plant had red tubular flowers, and it is also defined as deer resistant. All the flowers were nipped off overnight after planting. Luckily the leaves were left. Hummingbirds will sip nectar from the flowers. It is drought tolerant.
Here is a picture of another Penstemon plant which has not lost its flowers yet, for reference.
Blue Lupine. It was not flowering when planted but the leaves were unfortunately nipped at anyway. Lupine is a native in this area and it attracts pollinators and hummingbirds. I was hoping it had more resistance to the deer. My neighbors have big groves of this beautiful plant, so I'm hoping these nips were an out of the ordinary thing. At least the plants are still alive.
Here is a Pink Lupine suffering the same fate.
The Astrantia Star of Beauty (front plant) was totally decimated. In the back is a tiny Monkey Puzzle Tree. The deer leave this tree alone. I moved this tree to another location because I did not want it eventually shading the flowers.
Anemone x hybrida Lucky Charm. Although the leaves were left intact, all the beautiful flowers were nipped off.
Every single flower on this Carpathian Bluebell plant was eaten.
Here is another Carpathian Bluebell that has not been chewed yet for comparison.
The Columbine also suffered the same fate with the flowers being continuously nipped off as well as many of the leaves. These perennials can live in the sun here, but in Texas they definitely needed to be planted in semi-shady areas.
Here is a different color Columbine on the other side of the yard. Neither the flowers or the leaves escaped the deer's nibbles.
Black Eyed Susan perennial - since the leaves are fuzzy, I was really surprised that this one was also eaten.
The African Daisy (Osteospermum) is a perennial that my neighbor grows in great abundance with no deer bothering hers, but alas, my yard deer thought the flowers were just another tasty treat.
Who would have thought deer would eat Hen and Chickens (Sempervium)? They kept pulling the entire plant out of the ground as they munched on it.
This plant was covered in sweet little pink flowers. It is a Pink Hardy Geranium which is native in most of North America. It was decimated. There is a fern behind it (native here) which luckily escaped intact.
I have another Hardy Geranium for comparison with its flowers. It hasn't been eaten yet.
This perennial is a Crocosmia Aurea. The deer cannot leave it alone. I actually planted it in 2019 when we bought this house. It is the first thing I planted here. I planted it because many of my neighbors had one blooming in their yards and I loved them. I'm not as lucky as my neighbors. Every time a new flower bud appears, the deer nip it off. My neighbors must be spraying it with some kind of repellent. That is the only conclusion I can come to.
Variegated Rock Cress had one whole branch ripped off but it ultimately was not eaten.
This is a variegated sport of California Lilac which is actually a shrub. Some varieties of these shrubs obtain the height of a small tree. This specific one will only get 3' tall. When it blooms, it is covered in beautiful purple blossoms and the bees absolutely love it. It is native to California. Although the deer didn't decimate it, they definitely nibbled some leaves.
2) The following perennials were not bothered by the deer at all. I highly recommend them.
This perennial is an Agastache Mint. It attracts hummingbirds and the leaves smell minty and wonderful. So far, the deer have not touched it. After it is established it is considered drought tolerant. I grew this plant in north Texas.
This Brunnera has not been touched and I highly recommend it. It does well in the shade too. It has tiny and long lasting blue flowers.
This volunteer white Snapdragon has not been bothered either. It is about 3 feet tall. I always thought they were annuals, but this one came up again this year. Excellent choice for northwest Washington. I bought a 4 pack and planted some red ones this year. I love them. They never grew well in Texas and looked beat down in the Texas heat until they died.
Red Hot Pokers are also an excellent choice here and deer do not bother them even when they are blooming. They are very drought tolerant. I grew them in Texas as well.
The Hellebore (lenton rose) is a wonderful plant. It blooms constantly from late winter into summer. The deer completely leave it alone. My plants have almost doubled in size in the 5 months since I originally planted them. It grows well in the shade, although I have one in the sun as well and it looks beautiful too.
Russian Sage is also avoided by deer. They do not touch it. It is very drought tolerant and blooms all summer long. The plants can get quite large and I grew this successfully in Texas too.
This variety of an Euphorbia is an excellent choice. I have seen several varieties in the nurseries around here. It is not a native - it is from South Africa. It blooms constantly and the deer leave it alone.
Lavender are not attractive to deer and my experience here is that all varieties are avoided. I have never had a single plant nibbled on. English Lavender are growing in the pots below.
Ferns are rarely nibbled on and I have several varieties.
The Ice Plant has not been bothered to date either.
Here are some pictures of my yard. One of the reasons I decided to plant only perennials was so I would have pretty color every year with minimal need to replant. I made it a point not plant new shrubs (there are existing rhododendrons in the yard) so I wouldn't need to prune as much. The yard previously was overgrown with juniper bushes and other various thickety plants I also eradicated a lot of English ivy. There is also a lot of Heather (low green patches on the ground) which the deer avoid. Unfortunately the variety in my yard does not bloom much and gets huge. I took out a lot of it, but left a few plants. I may end up ripping all of the Heather out.
Front Yard
Driveway Side Yard
Below for reference are pictures of the plant identifier tags for the perennials discussed in this post.
I've already been re-digging and moving some of the plants to different locations to ensure each plant is happy. I'm hopeful all the plants I've put in the ground so far will live, even though they have been munched on. They all look relatively healthy, other than missing flowers and some of their leaves. I have a feeling that if I can get them established, we can weather this deer storm. I'll always be adding new plants to my yard too - I love to experiment. If any of my gardening friends have some good recommendations, please leave me a comment. Happy gardening!
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