Sorry, ment to post on a Perennials forum.

First, I'm very sorry for this. I know how disappointing deer damage can be. It will be difficult to replace the bloom power of roses. If you were a zone warmer, I would have a few more ideas using long-blooming perennials such as salvia greggii, agastache, nepeta and perennial heliotrope. The low-growing buddleia 'Blue Chip' and 'Miss Ruby' would work in your zone and provide repeat bloom with some deadheading. Caryopteris is another one, but it will bloom in late summer and will look like sticks in the winter. 'Mini blue' is the shortest, I think. I have good luck with spirea, but the deer will do some sampling. Another deciduous shrub, so it won't provide interest in winter. Weigela may be an option. I've not tried it here (yet) to say if the deer will eat it. It is on many deer resistant lists. Cameron

Mike - great book. I've read that, too. I took notes, so I could remember her growing tips as well. I live in a clearing in the woods at a camp & conference center, so the deer presence is strong & they're used to people also. Besides gardening around our home we work on gardens around the camp where there is no fencing to keep them out. I don't apply deterrents there, but some staff members stick soap in the soil near the rose bushes. In one area another staff family has a dog that deters them so we can plant edibles for our childrens' gardens. Sounds like you have good experience to deter deer from your newly planted specimens. I hope to scare them before they enter the garden and are just walking on the driveway. Like you I've had them break off stems or sink in rootballs by jumping through in spring when the new growth is out and the wet & soft. Sometimes their feet do tramp through gardens, so I've learned to plant closely & have paths in back of borders that are next to a fence or the house. When the deer can't see over it or can't find a path through it they don't enter, but do attempt to nibble around the front. Barberry prunings from my daughter's place crisscrossed & laying on the path prevented them from getting to seedlings & small plants in the spring. I removed them when the plants were larger. Some root well from cuttings in spring, so you can multiply what you have to make large groupings or repeat in the border. Sedum, Nepeta, Lamium, golden creeping jenny, & vinca minor can cover quite a bit of ground after awhile like a living mulch. The deer eat the tall sedum at our parents' island home, but haven't eaten them here. I was pleasantly surprised with Nepeta cuttings from new spring growth, stripped lower leaves, poked my finger in soft soil directly in the garden where I wanted the plants, & inserted. I moved a few of them further back as they matured as I put them too close to the edge, but other than that they've been easy. Another tip besides starting seeds -- find a free plant swap near you. Those plants are going to transplant well since they've already acclimated to your climate. No heartache if they don't make it because they were free! Just be careful to clean up any stray weeds before you plant them. Sometimes I just wash that soil all away before planting out. I've received rootbound seedings that sprouted in bark on top of plastic in someone's garden. A bit of root prep & they've been great plants. Have you tried some ornamental grasses either stand alone or in groupings? Some can be grown from seed. I've received some of my best ones for part sun at free plant swaps as divisions or seedlings that will mature & reseed again for me. Spring planted starts establish quickly. Some are well behaved clumpers and some are spreaders. Be sure to read up which fit your situation. The spreaders are in sunken pots to keep them as a clump. What ever is new to me becomes my favorite at the time. Hope that helps, Corrine

Congratulations on your new home. I am new to this website and this is my first post. Anyhoo, I also have deer issues. the only place I can garden is in a fenced area in front. In the non-fenced areas: The deer will not touch rhubarb, which even if you do not like to eat it, does have pretty leaves. They also do not touch peonies. I had 3 large peony bushes in back and they did not bother those. I now have 11 bushes in front and none of the blooms (they actually bloomed the first year :) have been touched). They usually do not touch daylilies, except for the buds, which I just noticed to day they munched off about 3/4 of the new buds. i have also had luck with irises. Most of the "tricks" do not work with the deer I have, probably because they are city deer, so they are not as picky with what they eat. But these plants have held strong against the deer invasion(or human invasion depending on how you look at it. Oh, coneflowers are very deer-resistant also. Best of luck to you.