Deer-Proof Plants - Fine Gardening

  • Design

    Top Truly Deer-Resistant Evergreens for a Beautiful, Low-Maintenance Landscape

    Evergreen trees and shrubs form the structural backbone of any garden design and are invaluable for multi-season interest. They can act as focal points or they can be a backdrop…

  • close up of garden bed with yellow and pink flowers
    Design

    Five Years in a New Garden and Climate

    Joan Galloway is sharing the most recent phase of her gardening life with us today. I gardened for 30 years in British Columbia’s Pacific Northwest region near Vancouver. It is…

  • Oddball Cousins of Bleeding Hearts
    Design

    Oddball Cousins of Bleeding Hearts

    If you still have space for more dazzling options, check out these bleeding heart cousins. They are not all readily available in nurseries or by mail order, but they are…

  • Design

    Bleeding Hearts for Everyone

    Plant lovers have been swooning over bleeding hearts (Dicentra and Lamprocapnos spp. and cvs.) for centuries, and with good reason. Their exquisite heart-shaped flowers, long bloom times, and attractive ferny…

  • deer proof garden dry shade
    Design

    A Deer-Proof Garden Design for Dry Shade

    There aren’t many properties left that still have massive, native evergreen trees. Sometimes, however, you find a home built among the giants. These homes capture the essence of the forest…

  • How-To

    3 Things That Don’t Work (Reliably) as Deer Repellent

    Are deer munching your favorite plants? Desperate gardeners sometimes resort to desperate measures to ensure that beloved flowers don't become breakfast for local grazers, but there are some tactics that…

  • Design

    Deer-Resistant Combinations

    One of my greatest challenges as a designer and deer-plagued gardener is unpredictability. There are no rules. No guarantees. Just guidelines. I’ve watched deer devour thorny shrubs and trample fragrant…

  • Design

    15 Deer-Resistant Plants

    John Van Etten, former grounds superintendent at the Mohonk Mountain House in upstate New York, recommends 15 plants that deer won't eat; your experience, of course, may differ. For a…