Here are some examples of deer resistant landscaping designs for the Northeast region. The pictures were taken from my own garden. Plants were purchased locally or from online store, such as jungseed.com. Some plants chosen are not truly deer resistant, deer just damage them less severely than others.
Deer resistant landscaping designs for sunny locations
Sunny island bed. This shows a simple low maintenance kidney-shaped bed enclosing a post lamp and mail box at the entrance of the driveway. From left to right, dwarf red-leaf barberry, dwarf arborvitae, Japanese spirea (with pink flowers), Korean boxwoods (2 together), potentilla (with yellow flowers), peony (next to the post lamp, with pink flowers), and another boxwood. There are chrysanthemum and daylilies in the front.
Sunny perennial border. This is a 6 ft wide sunny perennial border with a mixture of shrubs and perennials along a fence. On the foreground, there are salvias (with purplish blue flowers). In the middle, there are daylilies with multiple color blooms. In the back, there are Japanese spirea (left upper corner, not yet in bloom) and butterfly bush (with purple flowers). Deer tend to eat daylily flowers and buds. Other plants are deer resistant. In recent years as the population of deer increases, the flowers of daylilies seldom survive. I have to replace them with Siberian and Japanese irises.
Sunny perennial island bed. This is a sunny island bed of perennials on the front lawn. Purple and white coneflowers locate on either end of the bed, and blazing stars (with long purple flowers) and coral bells in the middle. Also present are black-eyed Susan (with yellow flowers) at the right end, tree peony (behind black-eyed Susan), bearded iris (at the left end), daylilies (not visible, behind the blazing stars), and marigold (next to coral bells). With the exception of daylilies, all plants used here are deer-resistant.
Sunny shrub island bed. This long sunny island bed with Bloomerang Lilac, Snowmound Spirea and Korean Lilac along the street serves as a screen for privacy. It is more natural than a 7-foot fence. This also works well in the backyard. One important thing to consider for planting tall shrubs near your driveway is the ability of seeing the on-coming traffic when you are backing out your driveway.
Sunny perennial border. This is part of a sunny border against a fence. In the foreground, from left to right, there are juniper, salvia (purple flowers), marigold, color guard, coral bells (pink flowers), and coneflowers (not yet blooming). In the background, there are butterfly weed (orange flowers), butterfly bush, false indigo, daylilies (not yet blooming) and Japanese irises (purple flowers).
Sunny Island Bed. This is the sunny side of an island bed with a row of shrubs as background. Besides the bearded irises in bloom, there are a dwarf juniper and some coneflowers (not yet blooming) and salvias (with purple flowers) near the right end. The mass planting of irises look grand, but the flowers last only about two weeks. Although the irises are rebloomer, none of them rebloom in the fall in Northeast area. You have to wait till next spring to see them blooming again.
Sunny mixed border. This is a sunny border along a driveway. The focal point is a Soft Serve False Cypress which can grow up to 10 feet. Other shrubs are a boxwood, a Blue Star Juniper and a Rhododendron (they are short and may not be noticeable from the picture). There are also a number of perennials, such as daffodils (just finished blooming), bearded irises, Siberian iris, daylilies, and liatris (daylilies and liatris are not yet blooming). At the left far corner of the border, there is a terracotta pot of marigolds (not yet blooming).
Sunny slope. Low growing junipers are the best shrub for a sunny slope to prevent soil erosion. There are a number of them to choose from. The picture above shows the “Blue star juniper” and “Gold tip juniper”. Since they are growing very slowly, you can plant some perennials, such as creeping phlox and daylilies to fill-in the spaces among them. Addition of a rock in front of the plants helps to slow the rain water flowing down too rapidly. It also gives a rock garden appearance.
Deer resistant landscaping designs for semi-shady locations
Semi-shady border. This is a border next to an east-facing wall. It receives sunlight only in the morning. It is a perfect site for azaleas (back row), astilbes (front row) and Korean holly (left front). The astilbes will bloom after the azaleas.
Shady and semi-shady borders. This is a border next a walkway leading to the main entrance of the house that is facing north. Along the walkway, there is a row of dwarf Korean boxwood. At either end of the boxwood, there is a quadrant flower bed with azaleas sandwiched with astilbes. Along the foundation of the house, there is a row of spreading yews which can tolerate full shade. All plants used here are deer-resistant.
Semi-shady border. This is part of the above landscape showing the azaleas in bloom on the right side of the front door. Azaleas are the perfect shrubs for semi-shady area. On the foreground, there are the astilbes not yet in bloom. Along the foundation of the house, there is the row of spreading yew.
Ground cover daylilies under three trees. They receive morning sun. The daylilies are not truly deer-resistant, as deer often eat their flowers and flower buds. Other deer-resistant ground covers, such as Pachysandra terminalis, may be an alternative. Planting ground cover under the trees eliminates the need of mulch.
Semi-shady border. This is a semi-shady corner of a border along a north facing fence. It is partly shaded by the fence and nearby trees. Plants chosen here are actually doing better in semi-shady area. In the front row, there are coral bells, daffodil (finished blooming) and red astilbes. In the middle row, there are Siberian iris (behind the red astilbes, just finished blooming) and Japanese iris (with pink and blue flowers). Behind the Siberian and Japanese irises, there is a row of giant astilbes (with flower buds, but not yet blooming). They really brighten up the shady spot.
Lists of deer resistant plants
For a list of deer resistant shrubs, please go to this page.
For a list of deer resistant perennials, please go to this page.
A short list of deer resistant annuals can be found in this page.
