There’s nothing that screams – serenity like a flower garden full of vibrant colors, lush foliage, and blissful aroma. But even more delightful is observing a family of deer grazing around your garden.
That’s every wildlife watcher’s dream!
However, deer are creatures of habit and often return to the same area. While they have favorite plants such as hostas, azaleas, and arborvitaes, they’ll often wreak havoc on other landscape plants and agricultural plantations.
Because deer are a necessary evil, you need to find ways to discourage them from feeding on your plants. There are many ways, but by far, the most effective is growing certain annuals and flowering plants, which are avoided due to their taste, scent, or toxicity.
By strategically incorporating these deer resistant annuals into your garden, you can enjoy a beautiful landscape without constant worry about deer damage.
13 Best Deer Resistant Annuals for Your Flower Garden
Snapdragon
Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) are tender cut flowers that, according to the US Department of Hardiness Zones, are only hardy in Zones 8 /9 through 11.
The gorgeous flowering plants are characterized by their tall spikes of dragon-shaped flowers. They contain bitter compounds that make them unappealing to deer.
Additionally, their dense foliage and tall flower spikes can make them less accessible and less desirable for grazing.
Here’s an article on how to grow and care for them.
Lantana
Lantana (Lantana camara) is a drought-tolerant plant that thrives in sunny locations. It produces clusters of small, brightly colored flowers. It contains volatile oils and alkaloids, giving it a strong, distinctive scent.
All these traits make Lantana one of the best deer resistant plants with a long bloom season.
Marigolds
Marigolds are great at attracting and feeding pollinators. They continue to feed these insects with nectar even late in the season when almost all garden flowers are gone.
Furthermore, they contain compounds like thiophenes and terpenes that contribute to their strong smell, which deters animals from feeding on them.
These compounds are the ones responsible for the plant’s antifungal properties.
Dill
Anethum graveolens, commonly called dill, is an annual that is frequently grown in herb, vegetable, and flower gardens not only for the harvest of its aromatic leaves and seeds but also for the ornamental display of its attractive foliage and flowers.
Besides, this plant attracts beneficial insects to the garden, making it a useful addition to your biodiverse garden.
Poppy
Poppies, genus Papaver, are tall, hardy annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial plants.
Most poppies are found in the Northern Hemisphere, and several species are cultivated as garden ornamentals. About 50 other species of Papaver are grown for their attractive flowers or interestingly cut foliage.
One cultivar stands out from the rest when it comes to deer resistance – the California poppy Papaver eschscholtzia ‘Californica’
Here’s a great guide on how to plant poppies from seeds.
Zinnia
Zinnias are a popular plant for annual gardens due to how easy they are to grow and how quickly they can grow, both from seed and as transplants (University of Minnesota).
They bloom aggressively regardless of the growing conditions. Furthermore, they’re loved by butterflies due to their vibrant flower colors.
Sweet alyssum
Sweet alyssum, scientifically known as Lobularia maritima, is a low-growing annual with dense clusters of small, fragrant flowers that smell like honey.
The plants are frequented by butterflies and bees
Its sweet fragrance and compact growth habit make it a charming addition to borders and flowering groundcover, while its deer-resistant properties make it a practical choice for areas frequented by wildlife.
Calendula
Calendula is more commonly grown in the flower garden than as a culinary herb.
This annual with daisy-like flowers is suitable for borders, beds, cut flower gardens, and containers. They look particularly good in masses and in the cottage garden.
While it’s pollinated by bees, it repels most of the other insects besides the deer.
Cosmos
If you’re looking for chocolate-scented flowers that grow well in zones 7-11, then you need to check out Chocolate cosmos plants!
These beautiful plants have dark red-brown, sometimes almost black, velvety flowers on long, slender, reddish-brown stems and bloom from early summer to autumn.
Angel’s Trumpet
Often confused with Datura, Angel’s trumpets are evergreen plants with many branching trunks.
The large pendulous flowers have a fused trumpet-shaped corolla and can be white, cream, yellow, orange, red, pink, or greenish in color.
Most of the plant’s species are fragrant at night except the red cultivar.
Nasturtium
Nasturtium is an easy-to-grow annual whose leaves and flowers are edible. These plants, with their bright greenery and vibrant flowers, are good for containers.
They are colorful, edible, butterfly-like blossoms that have delighted gardeners and cooks alike for centuries.
Flowering tobacco
Also known as Jasmine Tobacco, it’s an annual or tender herbaceous perennial in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.
The intoxicating fragrance of its showy flowers attracts nighttime pollinators like moths, making it an excellent addition to a moonlit garden.
Plant it as a filler in a container, in rock gardens, near a patio, or mass-plant it in borders.
Verbena
Verbena is a long-blooming, heat-tolerant perennial or annual flower. Verbenas come in many colors and sizes; some grow up to 6 feet tall, while other varieties are short ground covers that reach no higher than a foot.
The taller varieties of verbena with stiff, slender stems and airy clusters of flowers last a long time in flower arrangements.
Learn more about these beautiful plants here.
Why Deer Tend to Avoid These Plants
Deer have their favorite greeneries, often avoiding plants that are bitter, toxic, or strongly aromatic. Many of the plants listed below have developed natural defenses against most herbivores:
- Bitter Taste: Plants like snapdragon and marigolds have compounds that impart a bitter taste, deterring deer from feeding on them.
- Toxicity: Some plants, such as dill, poppy, and angel’s trumpet, contain toxins or alkaloids that can be harmful to deer if consumed in large quantities.
- Strong Fragrance: Plants like lantana, calendula, and verbena produce strong scents that mask the scent of more palatable plants or deter deer altogether.
- Texture and Appearance: Plants like zinnia and cosmos may have rough or hairy leaves that are less appealing to deer, or they may have flowers that are not as easily digestible.
Understanding these natural defenses helps in selecting plants that are more likely to withstand deer browsing in your garden.
Conclusion
Incorporating deer resistant annuals is the surest way to have a sustainable flower garden
These plants not only beautify your landscape but also contribute to its resilience and biodiversity.
It’s also worth noting that significant deer damage is more likely when their population numbers are high and environmental conditions are stressful, especially during cold temperatures and deep snow.
Therefore, you should also consider other preventive measures apart from plant resistance, such as constructing protective structures and habitat modification.