Deer in the Garden

"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed." --Francis Bacon

The deer population is on the rise.  It is estimated that the number of deer living in the United States has risen from about 300,000 in 1930 to 30 million today.  More deer are being seen in suburban areas as well as in the country.  It’s a good chance that deer may be visiting your yard and snacking on your garden.  When learning to coexist with deer, remember that deer are just like people in a number of ways.





Deer outside our window


• Tastes in food vary from one individual to another
• A starving deer will eat anything, regardless of likes or dislikes
• It’s hard to keep one out if it’s truly determined to find a way in

My personal experience with deer (in a rural area) is that they mainly come into the garden and close to the house in winter when food is scarce.  Our rhododendron bushes get trimmed of buds as high as a deer can reach each winter.  I’ve also observed them munching on evergreen bushes and any kind of plants they can reach through the snow. When good weather comes, they tend to range out into the woods and fields, although I have noticed that they love apples, lilies and hostas, and I have never even attempted to grow corn.

In the scented garden, the good news is that deer tend to avoid plants with scented foliage - like basil, lavender, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme.  Lilacs, honeysuckle, daffodils, hyacinths, and carnations and pinks are also on the “rarely eaten” list.  The bad news is that deer are often observed browsing on scented flowers such as roses, lilies, pansies and peonies.

Gardeners use many strategies to try to protect their plants from deer, including fencing and use of various deer repellents. Another approach is the grow plants that deer generally dislike, either exclusively or as barriers or camouflage around the plants they consider to be tasty.

Fawns under the apple tree