Question for flower garden experts

[KungFuPanda]

I have small flower gardens flanking my driveway. I want to put perennials there so it'll look nice but I won't have to replant each year. I have two big problems. Anything I put there cannot be attractive to deer or they'll be gone. Also, these beds are where DH piles snow all winter, so whatever I put there needs to withstand that. I have some daffodils I can move up there. They grow really well here in zone 7a. What else is similarly easy that might work?

 

Thanks to another poster, I'm going to order a Handful of Hostas to scatter about the front yard. I'm not sure they'll appreciate piles of snow though. We have a lot of shade, but those front corners of the yard do get sun from about noon til sunset.

[datgh]

Hostas are deer salad in my neck of the woods.  It is the first thing they go after in my yard.  They don't like daffodils so you are safe with those. Perennials won't mind snow piled on top of them.  Snow will actually insulate them.which prevents freezing and thawing which is what often kills perennials in the winter.  The snow can't have any salt mixed in with it which could happen if you you use salt to melt ice in your driveway. There are many lists around the internet of plants that deer find unpalatable.  it would be worth doing some research before purchasing any plants so you don't have the heart ache of finding the plants gone in the morning.  I know the deer leave the daylilies alone in my yard so far.

[gardenmom5]

what deer like varies from place to place.  and sometimes they like what they are supposed to dislike, and other times they don't like what they are supposed to love.

 

**deer resistant** - herbaceous perennials should do well with snow as they emerge after the snow has melted.  many of them are English/cottage garden staples.  some freely seed to new plants.

 

some

bleeding heart

Dutchman's breeches

catmint

foxglove

salvia

beared iris

lamb's ear

lavender

peonies

poppies (the list specifies oriental - they are more orange red than red)

columbine

veronica (which is doing better in one spot I put it mixed with ajuga. the ajuga is dying, the veronica is going strong)

rose campion (last year I ripped a bunch out that had freely seeded from a neighbor.  they are blooming right now where I ripped them out last year.)

coneflower

meadow rue

 

you will need to check them for soil, water, and light requirements compared to your site.  most are fairly easy and not demanding.  some of the above are also good for erosion control.

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was wondering how day lilies and salvia would do. We use ice melt, so I'm not sure how that affects anything. I AM proficient at growing daffodils, crocuses, periwinkle, clover, and moss. I can also grow poison ivy :-/ Grass doesn't seem to thrive here. They should make a chart: If you can grow ______, your conditions are ideal for also growing ________.

[MBM]

As long as you use an ice melter that is safe for plants, your perennials should be okay. Ice damage is worse than snow.

 

http://www.finegardening.com/preventing-and-repairing-winter-damage

 

If you have deer, get perennials that they definitely dislike. If they're hungry enough, they might even nibble on some of those.

 

http://www.finegardening.com/15-deer-resistant-plants

 

It sounds like you are getting about 7 or so hours of afternoon sun which can be too strong for some sun-loving plants. Salvia and day lilies should do okay. You might want to add some plants that add interesting texture and foliage color. Check out Nancy Ondra's website or the following book by her for ideas.

 

http://hayefield.com (Nancy's blog)

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Plant-Gardens-Perennial-Garden-Plants/dp/1612120040

 

Piet Oudolf is also fantastic but his plans could be a little too sophisticated for someone new to gardening. He is one of the best, if not the best.

 

Other things to consider: your soil -- is it clay, sandy, loam? -- and would you prefer plants that you don't need to fuss over much? For example, I have beds far from my house that require very little watering. That way I don't have to drag a hose out there too often. My fussy beds are close to the house where I can easily water them.

[KungFuPanda]

As long as you use an ice melter that is safe for plants, your perennials should be okay. Ice damage is worse than snow.

 

http://www.finegardening.com/preventing-and-repairing-winter-damage

 

If you have deer, get perennials that they definitely dislike. If they're hungry enough, they might even nibble on some of those.

 

http://www.finegardening.com/15-deer-resistant-plants

 

It sounds like you are getting about 7 or so hours of afternoon sun which can be too strong for some sun-loving plants. Salvia and day lilies should do okay. You might want to add some plants that add interesting texture and foliage color. Check out Nancy Ondra's website or the following book by her for ideas.

 

http://hayefield.com (Nancy's blog)

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Plant-Gardens-Perennial-Garden-Plants/dp/1612120040

 

Piet Oudolf is also fantastic but his plans could be a little too sophisticated for someone new to gardening. He is one of the best, if not the best.

 

Other things to consider: your soil -- is it clay, sandy, loam? -- and would you prefer plants that you don't need to fuss over much? For example, I have beds far from my house that require very little watering. That way I don't have to drag a hose out there too often. My fussy beds are close to the house where I can easily water them.

Thanks for all of the links! I'm off to explore them as soon as I post this. We do get evening sun, but only at the edges of the driveway. I have mature trees, so most of the front yard is part shade. Those driveway edges are my one shot at growing a sun-loving plant. We don't even have enough sun to grow grass in the front :-/ We do get adequate rain

[KungFuPanda]

The deer have never taken a single bite of my hostas, daylillies, purple salvias, columbine, bee balm, purple cone flower, hollyhocks, hydrangea, yarrow, and pincushions. The whole bed is covered with a few feet of snow for several months.

Ummm . . . just stealing your plan is looking like an option to me right now :-)

[KungFuPanda]

Check out Nancy Ondra's website or the following book by her for ideas.

 

http://hayefield.com (Nancy's blog)

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Plant-Gardens-Perennial-Garden-Plants/dp/1612120040

 

I just got the Kindle edition for $2.50!!! Thanks! LOVE the blog too :-)

[SadieMarie]

For shade perennials I like woodland poppies, lady's mantle, and bleeding heart.  We have a very shady yard and are in zone five so plenty of snow.  I also have hostas and we do have deer who venture into the neighborhood occasionally and I have not had any problems.  Maybe they are just full after eating all the tulips.   

[songsparrow]

If the beds are sunny, catmint is super easy to grow and will stand up to anything.  Another good pairing for daffodils are daylilies, which would not be at all affected by the snow piling but I don't know if they're attractive to deer.

[gardenmom5]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was wondering how day lilies and salvia would do. We use ice melt, so I'm not sure how that affects anything. I AM proficient at growing daffodils, crocuses, periwinkle, clover, and moss. I can also grow poison ivy :-/ Grass doesn't seem to thrive here. They should make a chart: If you can grow ______, your conditions are ideal for also growing ________.

 

I don't know where you are - but does sunsets western garden book cover you? it's most of the western half of the US (I think a southern gardening guide came out with something similar for the south)

it gets *very* specific for growing conditions.  the USDA zone charts are really very variable - and only go by minimum temperature, but do not take into account sun, soil types, rainfall, max temp, days at those temps, etc. or snow and use of deicers.

 

[Pam in CT]

We once counted a herd of 17 deer in our back yard.  They come right up onto the patio directly adjacent to the house.  I storm out in my pajamas to yell at them and they look up at me like, what?  Do you have some sort of problem?

 

Around here, hostas and daylilies are real favorites.

 

 

My garden looks very much like gardenmom's:

 

what deer like varies from place to place.  and sometimes they like what they are supposed to dislike, and other times they don't like what they are supposed to love.

 

**deer resistant** - herbaceous perennials should do well with snow as they emerge after the snow has melted.  many of them are English/cottage garden staples.  some freely seed to new plants.

 

some

bleeding heart

Dutchman's breeches

catmint

foxglove

salvia

beared iris

lamb's ear

lavender

peonies

poppies (the list specifies oriental - they are more orange red than red)

columbine

veronica (which is doing better in one spot I put it mixed with ajuga. the ajuga is dying, the veronica is going strong)

rose campion (last year I ripped a bunch out that had freely seeded from a neighbor.  they are blooming right now where I ripped them out last year.)

coneflower

meadow rue

 

you will need to check them for soil, water, and light requirements compared to your site.  most are fairly easy and not demanding.  some of the above are also good for erosion control.

 

except they did eat all the pink coneflower I tried (the yellow rudbeckia does fine, and I've never tried the white).  They don't bother my Siberian iris either, or monarda, or any of several types of coreopsis, or any of my many flavors of allium.

 

Something to think about with perennials is that the bloom seasons are generally pretty short (3-5 weeks if you're lucky).  Perennial purists carefully plan a sequence and layout so that something will always be in bloom... I'm not organized enough to do that, so I plonk in a few long-blooming shrubs (I've had good deer luck with lilacs - early; spirea - midseason; and hibiscus - late) and a few long-lasting annuals (around here, deer don't eat dianthus, which is perennial if you're warm enough but counted as annual here; or verbena; or chleome, which is gloriously tall).  I'm also very fond of Russian sage, which is somewhere between a perennial and a woody shrub, resists the deer, endures salt well and is pretty long-blooming.

 

Have fun!

[MomsintheGarden]

You've gotten some great advice! A couple of thoughts:

- Check out The Well-Tended Perennial Garden by DiSabato-Aust for a thorough treatment of perennial care.

- If you have little ones who like to eat plants, make sure you aren't planting anything toxic. A quick online search will help with that.

- Since you will be piling snow on the area, it's a good idea to only plant things that will "melt" back to the roots over the winter. Most of the plants suggested above will do that, especially things like coneflower, shasta daisies, bulbs/tubers, and columbine. You'll want to avoid plants that keep woody stems such as hydrangea, lavender, sage, and thyme. If you want a shrub-like plant that dies back, try peonies, but keep in mind that they flop after they leaf out (especially when blooming after a rain), so you can support them with a wire cage.

- For some great ideas, try visiting a nearby botanical garden. Most states have them, and they will have info for your climate and soil. They also employ very knowledgeable folks who want to help.

- Lastly, your extension office can be a great help, although many focus more on food crops.

 

Hope you find a planting that works for you!

GardenMom