As much as we all love wildlife, deer can be quite annoying when hungry and grazing in our gardens. We are sad to confirm that tulips and lilies are favorite deer bon-bons. Depending on how hungry and what other food sources are easily available, the following flower bulbs are not usually eaten by deer.

Flower Bulbs
Allium
Chionodoxa
Corydalis solida
Crocus
Dutch Iris
Eranthis hyemalis
Erythronium dens-cans Mixture
Fritillaria
Galanthus
Hyacinthoides hispanica
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Hyacinths
Muscari
Narcissi
Oxalis adenophylla
Puschkinia libanotica
Scilla


Perennial Plants
Asters
Astilbe
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra)
Colchicum (Meadow Saffron or Autumn Crocus)
Foxglove (Digitalis)
Gayfeather (Liatris)
Globe Thistle (Echinops)
Lamb's Ear (Stachys Byzantina)
Marigolds (Tagetes)
Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea)
Snapdragons (Antirrhinum)
Speedwell (Veronica)
Spurge (Eurphoriba)

Shrubbery
Forsythia
Lilacs
Potentilla
Spirea

How to Combat Munching Deer

*Have cats or dogs (walk the dogs near areas with yummy plant material).
*Enclose garden with very high fences (at least eight feet high), fine wire or clothe netting.
*Mulch with human or dog hair.
*Use commercial deer repellants (keep in mind that most require repeat application after rainfall).
*Joyce Descloux reports on a home-brewed mix she found to be effective in the Hosta Journal:

"In a kitchen blender, drop two old unshelled eggs, one large clove of garlic, a loose cupful of green onion tops, and two cups of water. Process to liquify about two minutes. Pour into a wide-mouthed quart jar; stir in two tablespoons of chili pepper. Add an old piece of deodorant soap and fill with water." She keeps the old mix unrefridgerated to add to new batches. Very smelly. Squeeze drip from an old saturated kitchen sponge over garden soil where deer or rodents plague your plants. Make sure to wear garden gloves!