Plants that deer don't eat
Looking out of the window in the mornings and seeing a family of roe deer on the lawn sounds idyllic.
In fact, it is idyllic until you realise that they love to eat your favourite flowers - the prettier the flower, the tastier it is. The deer are undeterred by thorns and prickles and will come right up to the door to munch on their best delicacy - roses.
After 20 (expensive) years of trying to outwit these animals, I have decided that the best approach is to plant flowers and shrubs that the deer do not like.
The list below is a combination of trial and error and research on the Internet. I cannot guarantee that these plants will remain untouched but if you have a problem with deer in your garden, then they are worth a try.
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
| Agave and Cactus | |
| Anise Hyssop | Agastache |
| Archange | Lamiastrum and Lamium |
| Bamboo | |
| Barberry | Berberis |
| Bears Breeches | Acanthus |
| Bishops Hat | Epimedium |
| Beebalm | Monarda |
| Bleeding Heart | Dicentra |
| Bluebells | Hyacinthoides |
| Blue Fescue Grass | |
| Blue Star | Amsonia |
| Butterfly Bush | Buddleia |
| Butterfly Flower | Asclepias |
| Californian Lilac | Ceanothus, small-leaved only |
| Caryopteris | |
| Catmint | Nepeta |
| Clematis | |
| Comfrey | Symphytum |
| Cotoneaster | |
| Crimson Bottlebrush | Callistemon |
| Daffodils | Narcissus |
| False Indigo | Baptisia |
| False Solomon's Seal | Smilacina |
| Feather Reed Grass | Calamagrostis |
| Ferns | most, except Japanese Silver Painted |
| Fountain Grass | Pennisetum |
| Foxglove | Digitalis |
| Gas Plant | Dictamnus |
| Germander | Teucrium |
| Ginger | Asarum |
| Goatsbeard | Aruncus |
| Hardy Cyclamen | |
| Hardy Geraniums | especially Geranium macrorrhizum |
| Heather | Erica |
| Hellebores | Helleborus |
| Hyacinth | |
| Hydrangea | |
| Iris | especially Bearded Iris |
| Jack-in-the-pulpit | Arisaemia triphyllum |
| Lamb's Ears | Stachys lanata |
| Lavender | Lavandula |
| Lavender Cotton | Santolina |
| Lilac | Syringa |
| Lily of the Nile | Agapanthus |
| Lily of the Valley | Convallaria |
| London Pride | Saxifraga x urbium |
| Lungwort | Pulmonaria |
| Mahonia | |
| Miscanthus Grass | |
| Mondo Grass | Ophiopogon |
| Monkshood | Aconitum |
| Montbretia | Crocosmia |
| Mountain Balm | Calamintha |
| Ornamental Onion | Allium |
| Ornamental Oregano | |
| Ornamental Rhubarb | Rheum |
| Pachysandra | |
| Pampas Grass | Cortaderia |
| Peonies | Paeonia |
| Penstemon | |
| Periwinkle | Vinca |
| Plumbago | Ceratostigma |
| Potentilla | |
| Red Hot Poker | Kniphofia |
| Rhododendron | |
| Rose Campion | especially Lychnis coronaria |
| Rosemary | |
| Rudbeckia Fulgida | |
| Russian Sage | Pervoskia |
| Salvias and sages | |
| Scilla | |
| Snowdrops | Galanthus nivalis |
| Soapwort | Saponaria |
| Spiderwort | Tradescantia |
| Spiraea | |
| Spurge | Euphorbia |
| St. John's Wort | Hypericum |
| Sweet Woodruff | Asperula |
| Tansy | |
| Thyme | |
| Tickseed | Coreopsis |
| Waterlily | Colchicum |
| Wormwood | Artemisia |
| Yarrow | Achillea |
| Yucca |
Many of the plants in this list were suggested in a gardening forum on the Wild About Britain web site, for which many thanks. Others were recommended by friends or found by trial and error in our English Country Garden.
