When you choose plants for your garden, you probably choose the flowers that have the color blooms you like, the ones that will thrive in your soil type, or that will grow the right size to fit your space. Our woodland creatures up here in north Georgia love for you to fill your yard with a colorful and tasty salad for them to eat! They especially love hostas, black-eyed-susans, and crabapples! Feeding the deer is not what you were going for when you carefully selected, bought, and planted your garden? We didn’t think so. That’s why Autumn Hill Nursery in Hickory Flat, GA has some tips and tricks for you to protect your investment from these gentle, but annoying pests.
Choose Plants That Aren’t so Tasty
The easiest way to protect your yard and garden from the abundant population of deer is to select plants that deer naturally do not like. There are not any plants that can be guaranteed 100% deer-proof, but this list contains plants that deer typically stay away from.
- Eastern Red Cedar
- Most Hollies
- Southern Magnolias
- Wax Myrtles
- Abelia
- Barberry
- Lilac
- Quince
- Bleeding Hearts
- Coneflower
- Carolina Jessamine
- Snapdragon
- Many more deer-resistant plants can be found on our website as well.
Other Options to Protect Against Deer
Along with choosing the right plants, there are other actions you can take to protect your garden. When it comes time to fertilize your plants, choose an organic fertilizer. From our experience, we find that synthetic fertilizers attract deer to your yard. We also carry a product called Liquid Fence Deer Repellent. It is an environmentally friendly product that is safe to use around children and pets and won’t hurt the deer either. One application lasts about 30 days, even if it rains. If you are looking to try a plant in your yard that isn’t on our list of deer-resistant choices, we recommend just purchasing one plant and trying it out for a week or two before you make a bulk purchase to make sure that your new landscape won’t quickly become deer food.
Deer eat up to 10 pounds a day, multiply that by a heard of 5 or more and you have a group of animals that can completely destroy your landscape, shrubs, and flowers. If you are having a deer problem in your Canton, GA yard, come by Autumn Hill Nursery and we will be happy to help you choose a selection of plants that will not only add interest and beauty to your landscape, but will also deter any further ‘munching’ by our Whitetail friends.
