GUESTWORDS: By Susan M. Seidman
(11/12/2009) Enough wailing and gnashing of teeth. The other day, as I surveyed the sorry remnants of my hydrangeas, hostas, and other favorite garden plants guillotined by deer, I had a sudden Eureka moment.
My glass is half full! After all, dozens of valued specimens have managed to thrive on my landscape, year after year, untouched by ungulates. They survive without any protection from physical deterrents — fencing, netting, barking dogs, blaring radios — or stinky, vile-tasting repellents.
This does not, repeat not, mean that my undisturbed plants are deer-proof. It’s a no-brainer that any creature will eat anything when hungry enough. Moreover, even short of their starvation point, the deer can’t be counted on to continue leaving the same specimens intact — at another time, in another neighborhood, in another garden, even in another part of my own garden.
But at least up to now, a good many of my plants have been disregarded consistently enough to be tentatively labeled deer-resistant. So here, for other gardeners’ comparison and possible enlightenment, is a rundown of those I haven’t needed to worry about — so far. I’ve listed them in alphabetical order under the most frequently used names.
• Narrow-Leaved Evergreens. Chamaecyparis obtusa pygmaea (a dwarf Hinoki false cypress). Hemlock. Juniper. Leyland cypress. Microbiota decussata (Siberian carpet cypress). Spruce. Intermediate yews, specifically Taxus media Hicksii and Brownii. My non-hybrid yew species, T. baccata (English) and T. cuspidata (Japanese), have suffered some deer damage.
• Broad-Leaved Evergreens. Daphne caucasica. Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel). Leucothoe. Osmanthus. Pieris japonica. Roseum elegans rhododendron — the only one of several cultivars I grow that is dependably disregarded by deer. Skimmia.
Holly depends on the species: Ilex crenata (Japanese), I. opaca (American) and I. glabra (inkberry) have never been disturbed. I. meserveae (blue holly hybrid) is also untouched except when tender new foliage appears after a drastic pruning; this is easily safeguarded with temporary fencing. Of my two hybrid tree hollies, I. aquipernyi San José has never been bothered; I. Nellie R. Stevens has had the bottom few inches of foliage nibbled during a few severe winters.
• Deciduous Shrubs. Azaleas: I have two deciduous specimens, a native viscosum (swamp azalea) and a hybrid Exbury/Knap Hill Klondyke, never touched — unlike my horribly vulnerable evergreen azaleas. Barberry. Buddleia. Caryopteris. Clethra. Forsythia. Fothergilla. Hamamelis (Arnold’s Promise witch hazel). Kerria japonica. Lilac. Potentilla fruticosa. Privet. Spiraea.
Viburnum: Of my five different varieties, the only damage has been to a trio of V. dilatatum Erie (Linden viburnum) planted near the deer’s preferred entrance to my property. Weigela.
• Perennials. Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s mantle). Astilbe. Brunnera. Carex morrowii (Japanese sedge). Cimicifuga racemosa (snakeroot). Cranesbill (hardy geranium). Eupatorium (Joe Pye weed). Euphorbia polychroma (cushion spurge). Ferns, all kinds. Forget-me-not. Hakonechloa macra Aureola (golden Japanese forest grass). Hellebore. Heuchera.
Iris, three kinds: Tall bearded, Siberian, and Japanese (I. ensata). Occasionally the tips of bearded-iris foliage have been nibbled after flower bloom is finished. Miscanthus sinensis ornamental grass. Nepeta, low-growing and tall-growing. Peony. Plumbago (ceratostigma plumbaginoides). Pulmonaria (Bethlehem sage). Salvia nemerosa. Stachys byzantina (lambs’ ears). Tovara.
• Groundcovers. Aegopodium podograria (goutweed or Bishop’s weed). Ajuga. Asarum europaeum (European ginger). Epimedium. Erica carnea (heath). Lamium maculatum (dead nettle). Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny). Pachysandra. Vinca minor (periwinkle or myrtle).
I’ve heard it said that deer, being browsers, don’t like bending over to eat plants too close to the ground. Nonsense! Not only have they demolished most of my ground-covering ivy, but they happily graze like sheep all over my lawn, year round — even as this is written.
• Annuals. Ageratum (I plant only the tall Blue Horizon). Begonia. Impatiens, when planted in the ground; I’ve had it disturbed when in pots. Marigold. Pelargonium (tender geranium). Petunia.
• Bulbs. I no longer plant new ones. Masses of daffodils survive unscathed and only require occasional division of clumps to reinvigorate bloom. I gave up on tulips years ago. A few minor bulbs from ages past — snowdrops, chionodoxa, muscari, scilla siberica, a few crocuses — survive both deer and rodents nicely.
So, I repeat, my glass is half full. Up to now, I’ve been lucky to keep enjoying plenty of unscathed plants. My local deer herd, numbering three to eight on a given day, commutes between my next-door neighbor’s property and mine. They visit so faithfully and confidently that I’ve become quite used to them. My cats no longer pay attention to them; the flocks of wild turkeys are far more interesting.
As for my garden plants the deer do devour regularly — don’t ask.
Susan M. Seidman, a freelance writer, has gardened in East Hampton for 33 years and been visited by deer throughout the last third of that period.