Keep out deer, rabbits and squirrels with good-looking, low-maintenance plants
By Patricia Taylor
WHENEVER I hear the term “gardening for wildlife,” I cringe. Birds and bees are fine, as long as they don’t dive bomb or sting you, but deer, rabbits, and squirrels… no way!
Because I’m an easy-care gardener — you can call me lazy if you like — I can’t be bothered with fences, sprays, mothballs, soaps and other time-consuming, expensive solutions to wildlife in the garden. Rather, I rely on good-looking, low-maintenance, pungent perennials, plants that foraging animals stay away from.
I write from personal experience as I have grown all of the following for years in my Princeton gardens, years when there have been plagues of rabbits and herds of deer. All the plants have bloomed in colorful splendor and escaped deprivations from these wandering, voracious animals.
Without further ado, then, here are some lovely, easy care perennials, grouped by light needs. One or more might be perfect for your garden if you, too, cringe at the thought of gardening for wildlife.
SUN
Yarrow (Achillea species): Breeders have had colorful fun with these plants, creating flowers that range from pure white to gleaming gold to scarlet red. In between are rose, purple, peach, and burnt orange colored blossoms. All feature a grayish, ferny type foliage and grow 2 to 3 feet tall. Cut the flowers for indoor arrangements and the plants will oblige by producing even more. These are widely available at garden centers throughout our area — just pick your color and plant.
Agastache species: While there’s nothing beguiling about the name of this genus, the various members themselves are — in spades. They not only are colorful but also are months-long lures for bees, butterflies and, in some cases, hummingbirds. There are two groups of Agastaches: those that hail from the eastern half of our country and those that are native to the southwest. Members of the first group, often called anise hyssops, feature 2 to 3 feet tall spikes adorned with blue or white flowers. Blue Fortune and Black Adder are two popular cultivars. Those in the second group, my favorite, are known as licorice mints. They are rather bushy plants, covered in flowers the color of western sunsets. While plants in this group tend to be taller — up to 4 feet — the lovely cultivar Apricot Sprite is only 2 feet. If you can’t find it at your local garden center, you can get seeds — as I did — from Thompson & Morgan (tmseeds.com)
Bee Balm (Monarda cultivars): Until the Morden Research Center in Canada started its breeding work, it was hard to love these colorful native plants because they were drenched in mildew by the time August rolled around. Under the direction of Dr. Campbell Davidson, pretty-much-mildew-free cultivars have been introduced. I can vouch for two dwarfs — the 15-inch high Petite Delight and the 12-inch high Petite Wonder. The former has lavender flowers and the latter beautiful, clear pink blossoms. Pinch the spent flowers throughout summer and new blooms will continually appear. If your local garden center doesn’t offer these, check out burpee.com for Petite Delight and waysidegardens.com for Petite Wonder.
Catmint (Nepeta hybrids): Yes, these plants can be attractive to cats (some like to roll in the foliage) but they are even more attractive to gardeners because of their spring through fall bloom period, colorful flowers, and ease of care. The Perennial Plant Association thought the Walker’s Low cultivar so outstanding that it bestowed its Perennial Plant of the Year honor on it in 2007, ensuring that the plant is widely available. Growing up to 3-feet tall, the flower spikes are covered in rich bluish-purple blossoms. And while I would like to claim credit for discovering it, the Mrs. Patricia Taylor who did is a gardener in Ireland.
PARTIAL SHADE
Alliums: Most gardeners know about flowering alliums, cousins to onions and featuring foliage that is tasty to us but not to wildlife. The popular alliums are tall standouts in sun gardens. Two, however, do equally well in part shade and are not as well known. Garlic chives (A. tuberosum) boasts of white flowers in August and can be invasive if you don’t cut the seed heads. In dry shade areas where little else grows you might welcome its presence and, under these conditions, it is not invasive. August lily (A. sensescens or A. tanguticum — botanists are still sorting this out) is a favorite of mine and those of fellow gardeners to whom I have given extras. Its lilac flowers — star attractions for bees — bloom for up to six weeks during our hot and humid late summer doldrums. If a garden center doesn’t carry either of these, you’ll find seed for garlic chives at parkseed.com and bulbs for the August lily at mzbulb.com.
Geraniums: While I’ve never been a fan of the annual geraniums (botanically speaking Pelargoniums), I’ve long loved perennial geraniums, members of a botanical genus of that name. I have 10 different kinds in my part shade to shade gardens. Low-growing, spring flowering groundcovers that are mostly evergreen — thus providing interest all year long — include bigroot geraniums (G. maccrorhizum) with purplish pink flowers and Biokovo (G. x cantabridiense) with white flowers. If you can’t find these at a local garden center, both are available at bluestoneperennials.com. Rozanne, the Perennial Plant of the Year in 2008, is widely available and for good reason. Dubbed “the most garden worthy geranium you can grow,” its blue flowers start in late May and continue through October. This is a plant that not only spreads but can also climb, almost like a clematis, through nearby shrubs.
SHADE
Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis): This perennial has a lot going for it. Thriving in our heat and humidity, its soft, almost velvety olive-green leaves form 12- to 18-inch, season-long mounds with minimal care. For a good six weeks or more in the latter half of spring, it bears profuse sprays of chartreuse flowers that are stunning in arrangements and easily dried. What I like most about lady’s mantle, however, is that the notched edges of the leaves hold morning dew or drops from soft rainfalls. These create a fleeting necklace that sparkles in morning sunlight, one that is simply enchanting to behold.
Italian Arum (A.italicum Marmoratum): Give this 6- to 12-inch plant moist, humus rich soil and you might find you’ll have lots of extra seedlings. Grow it in dry shade conditions and you might find yourself watering the area to get more seedlings because this is such a beautiful, year-long addition to the shade garden. In fall, deep-green glossy leaves, generously marked with creamy white veins, pop up and hold their own throughout winter. In spring, a large white flower that looks like a slim lily appears in the center of the leaves. As the flower petals die back and the foliage goes dormant, a seed covered spike is left. This features warm green berries that age to red-orange with the approach of September. Birds love these berries and as the fruits are eaten or fall to the ground, new foliage pops up to begin the cycle all over again. If you can’t find this at a local garden center, you can buy it a mzbulb.com.
Stinking Hellebore (H. foetidus): Lenten roses (H. hybrids) are very popular in shade gardens because of their lovely flowers now, their handsome green foliage through the remainder of the year, and their inherent poisonous toxins that deter wandering wildlife. I love these plants but, in keeping with the theme, I admit they do not have pungent foliage. There is one hellebore that does, however, and it goes by the most unglamorous name of stinking hellebore. Despite that name, the thin, elegant leaves only emit an odor when crushed. If you want to see it in all its glory right now, drive down Cleveland Lane in Princeton and find it in a street garden, where it and other spring beauties are in glorious bloom. Plant guru Tony Avent is a big fan of this plant and offers it for sale at plantdelights.com.

