I'm only in my second full year of "gardening" at my father's house and it's been a roller coaster ride. With all the development around my father's house over the years the deer have reproduced uncontrolled and now have much smaller grazing area. There's simply too many for the available food. They always ate what people consider "deer candy" but it's gone way beyond that now. I must say, though, that I pass fields and fields of Alfalfa and other forage material grown year round which deer could eat but prefer garden plants. When I spray with Liquid Fence and other repellants they bite off buds and drop them on the ground. A plant without the first flush of buds left as bare stalks isn't much help in the garden for some time even though deer didn't technically "eat" them. Nothing with 4 legs has eaten: Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) Asclepias tuberosa (Orange native) Asclepias curassavica (Tropical Milkweed) Eupatorium maculatum (large Joe Pye Weed) Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate' Lychnis Coronaria (Rose Campion) Stachys byzantina Nepeta 'Walkers Low' & 'Blue Carpet' Lavender 'Hidcote' & 'Vera' (Lady) Agastache aurantiaca 'Apricot Sprite' Agastache rugosa 'Honey Bee Blue' Agastache rupestris Agastache cana 'Purple Pygmy' Delphinium x elatum 'Magic Fountain' Penstemon digitalis 'Huskers Red' & 'Mystica' Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria' & 'Ruby Slippers' Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue) Lobelia speciosa 'Fan Blue' Monarda didyma (species) Monarda didyma 'Petite Delight' Verbena bonariensis Lantana Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red', 'Coral Nymph'& 'Hummingbird White' Salvia nemerosa 'Caradonna' (ate half of a 'May Night') Bearded Iris (a few blooms nipped off) Nicotiana sanderae (Limelight, Rose & White) They eat our Holly and Boxwood...Holly to the point of large bare spaces but only exterior browsing of Boxwood. Rhododendron get browsed because they're intermingled with Azalea which are defoliated even when sprayed. Resorting to burlap covering this winter since I'm tired of having them decimated each year. I tried to grow a Hydrangea, which I love, for a few years but they ate every leaf repeatedly until it just died. Again, sprayed repeatedly. If it's not deer then it's groundhogs, rabbits and slugs. I don't know which critter eats them but Zinnia & Marigolds have to be fenced or put on the deck to survive anytime from seedling stage until frost kills them off. The plants...not the deer! It's upsetting when you research and give care to planting things that are supposedly "deer resistant" and they get decimated. I consider half the plant being eaten "decimated" but others consider it browsing. If it won't bloom at all or a few measly blooms it's a bust for the year. If it dies from repeated heavy browsing I struggle to find something that's shown to survive. I think if you've got enough sunny areas your options are greater than if you want things that bloom in much more shade. It's trial and error which can vary from year to year. Cameron has a great running account of her experience with her "Deer Resistant Garden" and I find it encouraging to check it regularly. Different geographic locations and years vary but it's nice to look at her gardens to see what's working...and drool more than just a little! I can't remember if you linked your blog, Cameron. If I go back to thread to check I'll have to type this all over again so sorry if my link is redundant. :) When I make my early morning rounds to check for critter damage and plant conditions I can come upon damage that makes me utterly exasperated and crestfallen. I don't have that much space converted to amended beds or places where I've dug out cement clay down 2' and replaced with organic top soil. Lots of container grown plants with green rabbit fencing around "pot ghetto" along south side of house and stakes planted facing outward like sharpened javelins...LOL. Looks like hell with all the layers of protection this year but I refuse to lose more plants than I already have this year. The deer won't jump into this area since it's too close to house for that. Farther out and it's every plant for itself. Good luck with selecting plants and finding a mix that works reasonably well for you in your area. Just remember that the deer are variable in their behavior so you're ready if/when they browse things they haven't before. One can only grow so much Nepeta, Salvia, Agastache and few other things they very rarely even nibble. Here is a link that might be useful: Defining Your Home -Cameron's Blogspot

Greenthumbz, those are gorgeous pics! I've heard that there are a couple of trees that are not native to North America but are used by significant numbers of native insects. 1) Malus/Crabapples - native, hybrid, or exotic, Douglas Tallamy's book stated that the leaf chemistry is so similar that North american insects will use all species. This certainly bears true in my experience. I've got lots of crabs, a few specimens and a crazy wild thicket full of them in back,and they are bird magnets, not just for the fruits in the fall but for the nectar and insects in spring and summer. 2) Picea abies/Norway spruce - don't have any personal experience, but was told this by an ornithology student at Cornell who was doing a study on the subject

Dottie, well here goes Full Sun: At least 6 full hours of direct sunlight. Many sun lovers enjoy more than 6 hours per day, but need regular water to endure the heat. Partial Sun / Partial Shade: These 2 terms are often used interchangeably to mean 3 - 6 hours of sun each day, preferably in the morning and early afternoon. - However if a plant is listed as Partial Sun, greater emphasis is put on its receiving the minimal sun requirements. - If a plant is listed as Partial Shade, the plant will need some relief from the intense late afternoon sun, either from shade provided by a nearby tree or planting it on the east side of a building. Dappled Sun: Dappled sunlight is similar to partial shade. It is the sun that makes its way through the branches of a deciduous tree. Woodland plants and underplantings prefer this type of sunlight over even the limited direct exposure they would get from partial shade. Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight each day, with filtered sunlight during the rest of the day. Full shade does not mean no sun. There aren't many plants, except mushrooms, that can survive in the dark. hope this helps Blueangel

Gail, I agree with donn, definitely sow the seed anytime now and then plant out your plugs in May. Planting grass seed directly into your growing area is a bit tricky - hard to tell one grass from another when they are tiny. It sucks to find you have been cultivating a crab grass rather than your desired grass. As for deer, no guarentees. I attended a North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS) meeting this weekend and there was a general consensis about deer and rabbits ~ they have regional tastes. In other words, what works for me or for your friend 10 miles away, may not work for you. My experience is with rabbits and grasses. 'Our' local rabbits find most grasses tasty when they are first shooting. If I can get the grasses through the first couple of weeks that is enough to take them off the menu. Of course some grasses are never off the menu. Deschampsia spp. they love to death. Small Fescues are regularly given a brushcut in the late winter/early spring but, left untouched in the growing season. The description of your slope sounds like it would be ideal to grow most of the suggested spp. Have you ever tried growing a patch of Helebore foetidus?? Beautiful foliage but stinky like skunk - I would think it would be highly unattractive to a deer. AND the added bonus is that, if happy, it will self-sow and provide you with enough babies to move around and make an even bigger patch. Worth a try. A.