Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
Sun perennials deer usually leave alone, with a sample border planned from them.
In sun, the deer-resistant list is long and much of it is fragrant. Aromatic leaves are the best defence there is: catmint, lavender, salvia, Russian sage and bee balm are full of oils deer dislike. Grey, furry leaves, such as lamb's ear, come next.
These are the perennials NC State lists as deer resistant. Plant the most-browsed plants (if you must have them) in the middle of a group of these, where a deer has to push through scent to reach them, and not at the edge where it walks.
216 plants: 216 perennials.
The dozen to start with
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Lady's mantle
18 in · late May to early July
Scalloped, velvety leaves that hold beads of rain like mercury, under a froth of tiny chartreuse flowers in early summer.
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Lilyturf
16 in · early August to mid September
Evergreen clumps of dark, strap-shaped, grassy leaves, with spikes of violet flowers like grape hyacinths in late summer, followed by black berries.
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Tall verbena
5 ft · late June to mid October
Small clusters of lavender-purple flowers on tall, wiry, almost leafless stems, from midsummer to frost.
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Yarrow
24 in · mid June to late August
Flat-topped flower heads sit above feathery, aromatic foliage through the heat of summer.
A bed planned only from these plants
The planner was given only the plants on this page that suit zone 6 and full sun, and designed this 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) bed from them when the page was made.
The plants
- 1 Common thyme × 11, lavender
- 2 Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' × 7, red
- 3 Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' × 8, yellow
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 5, yellow
- 5 Corsican hellebore × 1, green
- 6 Culinary sage × 4, lavender
- 7 Chives × 11, purple
Planned as an English border: 12 of the 12 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Hot and cool in equal measure: red and yellow against lavender and purple, with green to calm things between them. The longest in flower is blanket flower 'Arizona Sun': 17 weeks, from mid June to early October.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
All 216 plants
Show all 216, by where they go in a bed
Front of a bed 83
- Basket-of-gold 10 in · mid April to mid May
- Beach wormwood 'Silver Brocade' 8 in · grown for its leaves
- Bird's-foot violet 5 in · late April to late May · host plant
- Black-eyed Susan 'Little Goldstar' 16 in · mid July to mid September
- Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' 12 in · mid June to early October
- Blanket flower 'Goblin' 14 in · mid June to early October
- Blanket flower 'Mesa Yellow' 18 in · mid June to early October
- Bloody cranesbill 12 in · late May to late July
- Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' 8 in · late May to early August
- Bugleweed 'Black Scallop' 6 in · early May to late May
- Calamint 16 in · mid July to early October
- Calamint 'Montrose White' 16 in · late June to mid October
- Candytuft 10 in · mid April to late May
- Carpathian bellflower 10 in · late June to late August
- Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' 8 in · late June to late August
- Catmint 'Junior Walker' 16 in · late May to early September
- Catmint 'Purrsian Blue' 16 in · late May to early September
- Cheddar pinks 'Bath's Pink' 10 in · mid May to late June
- Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' 8 in · mid May to late June
- Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' 4 in · late May to late June
- Chinese delphinium 'Blue Butterfly' 16 in · late June to late August
- Chives 14 in · mid May to mid June
- Clustered bellflower 18 in · early June to early July
- Common blue violet 8 in · mid April to late May · host plant
- Common thyme 10 in · late May to late June
- Coral bells 'Firefly' 10 in · late May to late July
- Cottage pinks 12 in · late May to late June
- Cottage pinks 'Mrs Sinkins' 12 in · early June to early July
- Creeping phlox 6 in · mid April to mid May
- Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' 5 in · mid April to mid May
- Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue' 5 in · mid April to mid May
- Creeping thyme 3 in · early June to mid July
- Cushion spurge 'Bonfire' 16 in · late April to late May
- Eastern prickly pear 10 in · mid June to early July
- English daisy 6 in · mid April to mid June
- Golden oregano 12 in · grown for its leaves
- Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' 18 in · late August to early October · host plant
- Goldmoss stonecrop 3 in · late May to late June
- Hardy ice plant 4 in · mid June to early September
- Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' 6 in · mid September to mid October
- Horned violet 6 in · mid April to late June · host plant
- Japanese aster 'Blue Star' 18 in · late June to mid September
- Lady's mantle 18 in · late May to early July
- Lamb's ear 12 in · grown for its leaves
- Lamb's ear 'Big Ears' 12 in · grown for its leaves
- Lamb's ear 'Silver Carpet' 6 in · grown for its leaves
- Leadwort 10 in · early August to early October
- Lemon thyme 10 in · mid June to mid July
- Lilyturf 16 in · early August to mid September
- Maiden pinks 8 in · early June to mid July
- Marsh marigold 16 in · mid April to early May
- Ornamental oregano 'Herrenhausen' 20 in · mid July to mid September
- Red creeping thyme 2 in · early June to mid July
- Rock cress 8 in · mid April to early May
- Rock soapwort 8 in · mid May to late June
- Roof iris 14 in · mid May to early June
- Scarlet coral bells 18 in · late May to late July
- Sea holly 'Blue Hobbit' 12 in · late June to late August
- Sedum 'Angelina' 5 in · grown for its leaves
- Sedum 'Dragon's Blood' 4 in · late June to early August
- Sedum 'John Creech' 2 in · grown for its leaves
- Sedum 'Tricolor' 4 in · late June to late July
- Shasta daisy 'Banana Cream' 18 in · late June to late August
- Silver sage 12 in · grown for its leaves
- Snow-in-summer 8 in · late May to late June
- Speedwell 'Red Fox' 14 in · late June to mid August
- Speedwell 'Royal Candles' 16 in · late June to late August
- Spike speedwell 18 in · late June to early August
- Stokes' aster 18 in · late June to mid August
- Striped bloody cranesbill 6 in · late May to late August
- Sundrops 18 in · late May to mid July
- Sundrops 'Fireworks' 18 in · early June to mid July
- Sweet William 18 in · late May to late June
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam' 18 in · late June to early September
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb' 16 in · late June to late August
- Variegated lilyturf 14 in · early August to mid September
- Wall germander 12 in · late June to early August
- White stonecrop 'Coral Carpet' 3 in · mid June to mid July
- Wood sage 'Blue Hill' 20 in · late May to late July
- Wood sage 'East Friesland' 18 in · late May to late July
- Woolly thyme 2 in · grown for its leaves
- Woolly yarrow 8 in · late May to early July
- Yellow ice plant 2 in · mid May to late June
Middle of a bed 85
- Anise hyssop 3 ft · early July to early September
- Arkansas bluestar 3 ft · mid May to early June
- Aromatic aster 'October Skies' 20 in · mid September to late October
- Aromatic aster 'Raydon's Favorite' 3 ft · mid September to early November
- Autumn sage 2½ ft · mid May to mid October
- Bearded iris 2½ ft · late May to mid June
- Bee balm 3 ft · early July to early August · host plant
- Bee balm 'Purple Rooster' 3 ft · late June to mid August · host plant
- Black-eyed Susan 24 in · mid July to mid September · host plant
- Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm' 2 ft · late July to late September
- Blanket flower 'Burgundy' 24 in · mid June to mid September
- Blue flag iris 2½ ft · late May to late June
- Blue mistflower 2½ ft · late August to mid October
- Bluestar 3 ft · mid May to mid June
- Bluestar 'Storm Cloud' 2½ ft · mid May to mid June
- Butterfly weed 24 in · late June to early August · host plant
- Caucasian scabious 'Fama' 24 in · late June to early September
- Columbine meadow rue 3 ft · late May to late June
- Common blanket flower 24 in · mid June to early September
- Coneflower 'Green Jewel' 24 in · early July to early September · host plant
- Coneflower 'Kim's Knee High' 20 in · early July to late August · host plant
- Coneflower 'Magnus' 3 ft · early July to early September · host plant
- Coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry' 22 in · late June to mid September · host plant
- Coneflower 'White Swan' 2½ ft · early July to early September · host plant
- Corsican hellebore 2½ ft · late February to late April
- Culinary sage 24 in · early June to early July
- Eastern bee balm 20 in · early May to mid June
- False sunflower 'Summer Sun' 3½ ft · late June to early September
- Feverfew 20 in · late June to mid August
- Flowering spurge 2½ ft · early July to late August
- Garlic chives 20 in · late August to mid September
- Gas plant 3 ft · late May to late June
- Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' 2½ ft · mid June to early October · host plant
- Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies' 3 ft · mid June to mid September · host plant
- Globe thistle 'Veitch's Blue' 3 ft · early July to late August
- Gloriosa daisy 2½ ft · late June to mid September · host plant
- Gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer' 3 ft · early July to early October · host plant
- Golden columbine 3 ft · late May to mid July
- Great blue lobelia 2½ ft · early August to mid September
- Hyssop 20 in · early July to late August
- Ironweed 'Iron Butterfly' 2½ ft · late August to early October
- Japanese iris 3 ft · late June to mid July
- Joe-Pye weed 'Baby Joe' 2½ ft · late July to mid September
- Lanceleaf coreopsis 20 in · late May to mid July
- Meadow sage 24 in · late May to mid July
- Meadow sage 'Caradonna' 24 in · late May to mid July
- Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' 2½ ft · mid July to early October
- New York aster 3 ft · late August to mid October · host plant
- Oregano 20 in · early July to late August
- Oriental poppy 2½ ft · late May to late June
- Oriental poppy 'Patty's Plum' 2½ ft · late May to late June
- Painted daisy 24 in · early June to mid July
- Pale purple coneflower 3 ft · mid June to mid July · host plant
- Peach-leaved bellflower 2½ ft · mid June to mid July
- Purple coneflower 3 ft · late June to early September · host plant
- Purple gas plant 3 ft · early June to late June
- Rose campion 2½ ft · early June to late July
- Russian sage 'Little Spire' 2½ ft · mid July to mid September
- Salvia 'Hot Lips' 3 ft · late May to mid October
- Salvia 'May Night' 24 in · late May to mid July
- Sea holly 3 ft · early July to mid August
- Sea lavender 24 in · mid July to late August
- Shasta daisy 'Crazy Daisy' 2 ft · late June to late August
- Siberian iris 2½ ft · late May to late June
- Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' 3½ ft · late May to late June
- Society garlic 20 in · late May to mid September
- Solitary clematis 24 in · mid June to early August
- Southern blue flag 2½ ft · late May to late June
- Southernwood 3½ ft · grown for its leaves
- Spanish lavender 24 in · early May to late June
- Spotted bee balm 24 in · mid July to early September · host plant
- Spotted bellflower 'Cherry Bells' 24 in · late June to early August
- Sunset hyssop 24 in · mid July to mid September
- Tennessee coneflower 24 in · mid June to late August · host plant
- Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' 3 ft · mid August to late September
- Variegated Japanese iris 2½ ft · late June to mid July
- White sage 'Silver King' 3 ft · grown for its leaves
- White sage 'Valerie Finnis' 24 in · grown for its leaves
- Whorled milkweed 24 in · late June to late August · host plant
- Wild columbine 24 in · early May to early June
- Wild geranium 20 in · early May to late May
- Yarrow 24 in · mid June to late August
- Yarrow 'Cerise Queen' 24 in · mid June to late August
- Yarrow 'Paprika' 24 in · mid June to late August
- Yellow coneflower 3 ft · mid June to mid July · host plant
Back of a bed 48
- Anise sage 'Black and Blue' 4 ft · late June to mid October
- Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' 4 ft · late June to mid August · host plant
- Blue false indigo 4 ft · late May to mid June · host plant
- Blue sage 4 ft · late August to mid October
- Bog sage 5½ ft · late July to mid October
- Boltonia 'Snowbank' 4 ft · early September to mid October
- Boneset 4 ft · early August to mid September
- Bronze fennel 5 ft · grown for its leaves
- Brown-eyed Susan 4 ft · late July to early October · host plant
- Clary sage 3½ ft · late June to early August
- Common milkweed 4 ft · late June to early August · host plant
- Culver's root 5 ft · early July to mid August
- Culver's root 'Fascination' 5 ft · mid July to late August
- Delphinium 5 ft · late June to mid July
- False sunflower 4 ft · late June to early September
- False sunflower 'Summer Nights' 3½ ft · late June to early September
- Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' 4½ ft · late June to late August
- Giant coneflower 6 ft · late June to early August · host plant
- Globe thistle 3½ ft · mid July to mid August
- Goat's beard 5 ft · early June to late June · host plant
- Golden lace 5 ft · late July to mid September
- Ground clematis 'Purpurea' 5 ft · early June to mid July
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway' 6 ft · late July to mid September
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' 4 ft · late July to early September
- Maltese cross 3½ ft · mid June to mid July
- Maximilian sunflower 8 ft · early September to mid October · host plant
- Mediterranean spurge 4 ft · late March to late May
- Mexican bush sage 4 ft · early September to early November
- New York ironweed 6½ ft · early August to mid September
- Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' 3½ ft · late May to late June
- Rattlesnake master 4 ft · mid July to late August · host plant
- Red hot poker 3½ ft · late June to early August
- Russian sage 4 ft · mid July to mid September
- Showy goldenrod 4 ft · late August to mid October · host plant
- Sneezeweed 4 ft · early August to late September
- Spotted Joe-Pye weed 5½ ft · mid July to early September
- Swamp milkweed 4 ft · early July to early August · host plant
- Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' 3½ ft · early July to mid August · host plant
- Swamp sunflower 6½ ft · late September to late October · host plant
- Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' 4½ ft · late July to mid September · host plant
- Sweet Joe Pye weed 6 ft · late July to early September
- Tall coreopsis 6 ft · early August to mid September
- Tall larkspur 5 ft · mid July to late August
- Tall verbena 5 ft · late June to mid October
- White false indigo 4 ft · late May to late June · host plant
- White snakeroot 'Chocolate' 3½ ft · mid September to mid October
- Wild bergamot 3½ ft · early July to late August
- Willowleaf sunflower 'First Light' 4 ft · mid September to mid October