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Saratoga Gardening Tips: Keep Deer Away From Your Garden

Don't let deer destroy your beautiful flowers and vegetables! Keep deer away from your garden with these Saratoga gardening tips for planting deer resistant plants.

deer and fawn in garden

It's true! Deer will intentionally avoid certain plants due either to their strong odor or to their poisonous qualities. Lining the borders of your yard or garden with deer resistant plants and replacing deer favorites with plantings from their unfavorable list helps discourage deer from using your backyard as a regular feeding ground!

Check out our list of deer resistant plants below. Most of them have showy blooms or berries and would make great additions to your current garden! Check out where to find these flowers and plants at local Saratoga nurseries.

Please Note: The following is not an exhaustive list, and we do not guarantee these plants to solve all of your deer related garden problems. This list has been compiled from local gardeners who claim to have had success with these plants. Our hope is that you find their suggestions useful.

Key: annual (a) | biennial (b) | perennial (p)
Those labeled "Zone 5 a" are annuals in the Saratoga climate zone, though perennials in warmer climates.

Aster (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies,)
Baby's Breath (Zone 5 a) (has showy flowers, blooms in summer)
Basil (a) (fragrant herb)
Bee Balm (p) (fragrant herb, has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Begonia (Zone 5 a) (has showy flowers, has showy leaves, blooms in summer)
Birch (tree) (has showy bark)
Black Eyed Susan (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in late summer)
Bleeding Heart (p) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Bluebonnet (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Buttercup (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in summer)
Calla Lily (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in late spring)
Canna Lily (bulb) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in late summer)
Carnation (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Catnip (p) (attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Chives (bulb) (fragrant herb, has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Columbine (p) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, attracts butterflies, blooms in spring)
Coneflower (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in summer)
Cosmos (a) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in summer)
Crocus (bulb) (has showy flowers, blooms in early spring)
Daffodil (bulb) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Dahlia (Zone 5 a) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in late summer)
Delphinium (p) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Dill (a) (fragrant herb)
Dogwood (tree) (has showy flowers, blooms in late spring)
Forget-Me-Not (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Forsythia (shrub) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Foxglove (b) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in late spring)
Gaillardia (a) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in early summer)
Garlic (bulb) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in summer)
Geranium (Zone 5 a) (has showy flowers, blooms in summer)
Goldenrod (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in late summer)
Hens and Chicks (p) (has showy leaves)
Honeybush (shrub) (has showy flowers, blooms in summer)
Honeysuckle (vine) (has showy flowers, has showy fruit, attracts hummingbirds, attracts butterflies, blooms in spring)
Hyacinth (bulb) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Iris (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Jack-in-the-pulpit (p) (has showy flowers, has showy fruit, blooms in spring, endangered)
Juniper (shrub) (evergreen)
Lamb's Ear (p) (has showy flowers, has showy leaves, blooms in late spring)

Larkspur (a) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Lavender (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in summer)
Lilac (p) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, attracts butterflies, blooms in early summer)
Lily of the Valley (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in summer)
Marigold (a) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in late summer)
Mayweed (a) (has showy flowers, blooms in spring)
Mint (p) (fragrant herb, attracts butterflies)
Morning Glory (a) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in late summer)
Onion (bulb)
Peony (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in late spring)
Pine (tree) (evergreen, has showy cones)
Poppy (a) (has showy flowers, blooms in early summer)
Primrose (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in summer)
Ragwort (a) (has showy flowers, blooms in summer)
Red Hot Poker (p) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Rhubarb (p) (prevent from blooming)
Rose of Sharon (shrub) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in late summer)
Sage (p) (fragrant herb, has showy leaves)
Shasta Daisy (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in late summer)
Snapdragon (p) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Snow-on-the-Mountain (a) (has showy leaves, blooms in summer)
Spearmint (p) (fragrant herb)
Spotted Dead Nettle (p) (has showy flowers, has showy leaves, blooms in early spring)
Sweet Pea (a) (has showy flowers, blooms in late spring)
Sweet William (b) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in early summer)
Tarragon (p) (fragrant herb)
Thyme (p) (fragrant herb, has showy leaves)
Trumpetvine (vine) (has showy flowers, attracts hummingbirds, blooms in summer)
Violets (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in spring)
Virginia Bluebells (p) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in spring)
Winterberry Holly (shrub) (has showy fruit)
Yucca (p) (has showy flowers, blooms in early spring)
Zinnia (a) (has showy flowers, attracts butterflies, blooms in late summer)