We ripped out all the overgrown foundation plantings in front of our house last year

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uhhhmmm.... what did you rip out.. that apparently the deer didnt bother ... as they got so huge???

i agree with getting rid of old monsters ... but that shouldnt stop you from properly planting the same thing if it accomplishes your goal of being somewhat deer proof ...

if you dont know.. and have some old pix.. we might be able to ID stuff ...

it appears you have enough lawn to plant shrubs out into said lawn .. avoiding the old trap of planting things with huge potential ..... feet from the foundation.. as your old beds tell ...

frankly.. there isnt much that can go in those very small foundation beds.. that will achieve the height you will need to offset your 2 story house.. yet make it pleasing to the eye...

ken

Thanks Ken. Not because I am looking to replicate any of this, but to your good question about what survived previously....

The first of these pics I'm adding is from 18 years ago, and the next two from just recently, before clearing it out. It's ugly, I know. There were a couple of true monsters - holly and something else all the way on the left that, as you referenced, had far outgrown the narrow beds and taken over the walkway. There were yews, alberta spruce (I think), and maybe azalea(? don't remember them flowering but my brain is mush) that had grown into each other, even 18 years ago, and later many became lollipops as the yard got more shady and deer population exponentially grew.

I'm eager to hear any and all ideas, including the suggestion about possibly planting a bit on the other side of the walk.

Thanks Lacey, I am going to look into your suggestions as I'm not familiar with them by name, though will probably recognize them. I have used Liquid Fence in the past though have not been great about keeping it up after rains, etc. I will definitely need to go back to it though after putting the new plantings in.

Since it's mostly shady and you have deer, I suggest some rhododendrons. They're poisonous. They're also fairly easy to keep under control since they don't get dense like the yews you seem to have had. Azaleas are basically small leaved rhodos, so they would work too.

Rhododendrons!!! They will be decimsted by deer!

^^^ Agree 100%!! Plants that may be toxic or poisonous to us may have absolutely no impact on other animals that may feed on them. Case in point are yews/Taxus species - toxic in all their aspects but the deer love them!!

The best deer resistant plant listing I have found is one published by Rutgers University and has a 4 tier rating system, from "rarely damaged" to "frequently severely damaged". The last category - severely damaged - includes azaleas, rhododendrons, yews and arborvitae. And hostas. All deer candy!!

Rutgers Deer Resistant Plant List

I used to regularly get herds of deer in my yard. Never touched rhodos. I guess appetites vary.

Deer tastes will vary by location, species and whatever else is available that may be more to their liking. Here - the land of rhododendrons - deer rarely bother them in favor of more tasty snacks. Like hydrangeas :-(( Then again, English laurel is supposed to be highly deer resistant yet I have seen young plants nibbled to the ground.

They eat what they feel like eating regardless of what any lists may state.

This is so interesting! My rhododendron has never been touched by the local deer. I guess there are too many other treats to sample!

Deer here seem to leave R. maximum alone, but azaleas are fair game. Also, IME Liquid Fence lasts a long time and through rain, but of course, eventually needs respraying. And of course it doesn't protect new growth.

I live in NJ deer country, too. In that kind of light, I grow Annabelle hydrangeas. Of course I spray them. I mix my own repellant of eggs and water. I make an effort to plant deer-resistant stuff in the rest of the yard, because it's a pain to run around spraying everything. Spraying just around the foundation is not so bad. I wish I could recommend something evergreen in those light conditions, but I've got nothing.

I have a couple of annabelles. They're inside a fence so deer don't get to them, but on the other side of the fence they've suckered up a plant and the deer seem to leave it alone. Maybe they don't know it's there since it's not that big, maybe 3', and is all by itself. It's kind of camouflaged out in the open.

Under the circumstances, you could do a lot worse than boxwood. It's about the only evergreen my deer don't touch, and it handles shade well. My biggest fear would be it might burn from too much sun during the winter, but the hardier (and more blight resistant) Korean hybrids can probably take it.

Another shrub to look into is Pieris japonica. I don't have personal experience with this one because a) I don't like it, and b) it doesn't like my soil, but it does have a good local reputation for shade tolerance and deer resistance.

Another another one is aucuba. It may be pushing the envelope in several directions, but also may be an easy and cheap experiment. It's become a very popular foundation plant in and around NYC relatively recently, but isn't hardy enough for me to know anything about. That NJ website claims decent deer resistance.

It might help if you have some idea of when the deer are at their worst. Here, for the most part, they aren't really that bad during the summer. Winters when snow cover makes some food inaccessible are the worst.

BTW, for me, Annabelle is one of the few plants the deer will eat to death. They leave the pink one (Pinkerbelle?) that is next to the house alone, but the regular Annabelle out in the yard is practically gone.

Many things are considered deer-resistant until they're hungry enough. I'd say the guaranteed ones would be the thorny plants (likely why your holly was fine, if it was an Ilex opaca) and plants with scented leaves--Salvias, Lavender, Rosemary. I have a Caryopteris "Dark Knight" in clay soil and it's doing amazingly well, has scented leaves, and you can control how big you let it get by how much you prune in the spring. Cut it back to 12 or 18" if you want a smaller shrub or just give it a trim if you want something big and blowsy. I have found that I need to stake them if I want them big--they tend to splay out in some of the brutal storms we get so my plan is to trim them further back this year to keep them a bit more "tight."

I live in Oregon with the browsing beasties (deer). After years of success and failures, i have a fairly deer resistant shade garden. Lots of shade in summer when the oak leaf out. The garden is planted with euphorbia, hellabore, narcissus, vine maples, eounymus, spirea, kerria japonicus, large allium, barberry, boxwoods, shade grasses, peonies, ferns, winter hazel…

A dog that is allowed to be a dog instead of a silly “fur baby” will keep deer away. Install an electric fence to keep him in the yard, a shelter for when it rains (bet he won’t use it) and the deer will stay away. People will say electric fences don’t work, but they do 100% if you train the dog.

Here are some suggestions using: Black Dragon cryptomeria, Red Majestic contorted filbert, Rose Creek abelia, Kakeidoscope abelia, Ogon sedge, Red Dragon Japanese maple, White Chiffon hibiscus & Winter Gem boxwood:

Nothing wrong with boxwoods for foundation plantings! It’s the one shrub that deer don’t eat in northern NJ! American holly, PJM rhododendron (only the PJM variety), barberry, Japanese maples,and spirea are other options. I agree with the earlier suggestion to look at the Rutgers list of deer resistant plants - a great source. Deer also don’t eat Epimedium - but that is more of a ground cover. Best is the sulphureum variety because it spreads. But it needs richer soil, and won’t do well in the “shale soil” in parts of northern NJ, unless you generously amend the soil in the planting area.

May I suggest a more updated design that would be in keeping with your farmhouse style house? Instead of shrubs, consider a broad swath of grasses and native perennials for a praire or meadow look. Maybe someone can find an example or Doug could do a rendition.

There are farms everywhere- mountains, valleys, coasts, Caribbean islands, not just on prairies.

Of course I said prairie or meadow, referring to a style of landscaping which is different from the traditional suburban foundation shrubbery. I missed your point.

The house is in the suburbs and is not a farmhouse. Why would you do prairie farmhouse landscaping?

Another point is, why would you do landscaping that looks dead a significant part of the year? It's the sort of thing people put in because it is trendy/they think they should, then yank after a winter or two.