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

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

Mine eat the native Christmas ferns, daffodils, solomon's seal, and toad lily. They prefer my variegated taod lily and solomon's seal. They prefer flower buds to leaves on most anything. I formerly thought some plants were "safe." I compiled lists and re-landscaped, using what I thought were resistant plants. The deer will leave them alone for a while, then eat them. It seems to be about how hungry they are. It also seems to help to put enough repellant spray on to take your yard off their preferred dining list. Deer take the asme paths, cycling thru every 1-3 days. If you spray everything heavily, they will change path and leave you out. You must continue to spray at periphery of property, becasue they will occasionlally come back to sample again. Good luck.

I'm located in southern ny and have been working on a wildlife garden - heavily influenced by natives for a few years now. Most of my plants are used by pollinators - for nectar, or host. and the birds are quite fond of the fruiting shrubs. I have lots of shade, some deer and in one area black walnut trees (note: not all plants listed below are growing with the walnuts). I'll share what has worked for me: small to medium trees - both volunteers here: Celtis occidentalis hackberry Prunus serotina black cherry shrubbery - these were purchased: elderberry (sambucus), lindera - may get a nibble, but not decimated by deer. this year I added some ninebark starts. I've read that deer will nibble on these, but they will come back from it . I am also trying some cornus (red twig dogwood). many say the deer like these - I have some low-tech deterrents in place - branches and such. I am hoping they'll be okay until they get a bit larger. There seems to be some conflicting information online as to deer preference for the cornus - time where tell where my plants fit. I was debating these plants for a while, but figured I'd give 'em a shot this year. A somewhat protected Amelanchier (serviceberry) is doing well. and the deer seem uninterested in my itea - it is planted up close to the house, tho. flowers/perennials all volunteers unless otherwise specified: Since pulling out the garlic mustard in the area, I have a lot of the native annual jewelweed which the deer do enjoy. I mention it because I suspect they may be more interested in this than things they don't find as tasty. I do tend to pull some of this out as the season progresses - but between the deer and myself, there's still some flowering later on. The other annual i welcome (considered weedy to some) is three-seed mercury. deer don't touch this, and it always looks perky. other native volunteers for me that may be considered weedy by some - Circaea (enchanters nightshade), geum white avens, white wood aster, viola, virginia knotweed, and sensitive fern. these are the "rabbits" of my garden they are very assertive and help hold down the fort from garlic mustard and other nasties. of these, the circaea and asters do get a nibble - but the "pruning" makes for a lusher bloom. I also leave a lot of the poke weed that pops up - this too gets nibbled, but will still bloom and fruit. and how can I forget - jack in the pulpit. my solomons seal gets nibbled early in it's growth if unprotected (branches placed around it), but the deer seem to leave it alone when larger. I also have some deer tongue grass in the sunnier locations - deer leave this alone. purchases: milkweed - incarnata, and joepye weed can both take some shade. joe pye gets nibbled a little too, but I get the same results as with the aster - not decimated, just a bushier look. native geranium, celandine poppy, christmas fern, bloodroot, cardinal flower, great blue lobelia, Agastache, and echinacea all seem un touched. vines: wild grape, virginia creeper, and poison ivy I think that about covers it - sorry for being so long-winded, but know what a pain it can be to constantly cross reference shade tolerance and deer resistance lists (I would still recommend checking to see if native to your area). I would suggest also posting in the native plants forum here. I think you'll get a greater response. another suggestion would be wildlifegardeners.org good luck Here is a link that might be useful: natives forum / gardenweb