Regional Picks: Deerproof Perennials – Northwest

Russian sage

Name:Perovskia atriplicifolia

USDA Hardiness Zones:6 to 9

Size:3 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 3 foot wide

Conditions : Full sun ; well - debilitate soil ; stand drouth

I have a love / hate family relationship with Russian sage . I love its tall spikes of lavender - low-spirited blossom , which provide a colorful backdrop for shorter perennial from late summertime through fall . I have it away its silvery gray leafage , which is too pungent for any deer ’s ticklish nose . Best of all , Russian salvia requires no tearing during tenacious , dry summer once it is establish . But have ’s just say that when I tried to dig out my several - year - old plants that were threatening to sweep over their less vigorous neighbors , I had a few choice things to say about their retentive , spreading roots .

Blue oat grass

Name:Helictotrichon sempervirens

Zones:4 to 9

Size:3 foundation tall and 2 feet wide-cut

Conditions : Full sun ; moist , well - drained soil ; tolerates drouth

Blue oat sess , with its prospicient blades extending stiffly in all directions like the spines on a ocean urchin , has architectural presence . But because it lacks lush , hostalike leaves , deer tend to void it . The first few old age that I produce this grass , I was not enamored with its plumes . I thought the ecru staunch and flowers detracted from the shape and colour of the leaf , which stays drab all winter . As the plants have matured , however , I ’ve changed my thinker because the grass make sturdy bloom stalk that have a graceful apparent motion in the winding .

Dusty meadow rue

Name:Thalictrum flavumssp.glaucum

Zones:3 to 10

Size:3 to 5 feet grandiloquent and 1 to 2 feet wide

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; moist , robust soil

In early to midsummer , stale hayfield rue produce rafts of fluffy , pastel yellow flowers that are borne on magniloquent stalks above a hummock of lacy , bluish unripened foliage . Some gardeners cover that the flower stalks postulate staking , but they have never flopped in my full - sun garden . This hayfield rue hump its place : It stays in one spot , returning faithfully year after yr , never elbowing its neighbor away or seeding all over the home . Although my deer relish other plants in the buttercup family , they have never eaten my dusty meadow rue .

‘Foya’ Scotch heather

Name:Calluna vulgaris‘Foya’

Zones:4 to 7

Size:10 column inch marvellous and 15 column inch blanket

condition : Full sun ; moist , well - drained , rich , acidic grease

When ‘ Foya ’ flash its flaming orange - red foliage between October and April , even nongardeners expect me what it is . It helps that visitant approaching my theater just happen to see the reddest side of the plant — the side face due south . ‘ Foya ’ is one of a group of Scotch heathers whose golden summertime leaf changes color with the combination of coolheaded temperatures and warm sunshine , but it is more compact than most cultivars . Although stunning to humans , its bristlelike needles make it unappetizing to deer . Unlike some works with golden leaf , mine have never shown a trace of scorch . Because the previous - summertime flush are neither abundant nor showy , I normally do n’t even acknowledge when ‘ Foya ’ is in bloom , but its winter - foliage coloration is reasonableness enough to plant it .

exposure : Jennifer Benner ; courtesy of Barry Wulff ; Jerry Pavia

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Regional Picks: Deerproof Perennials - Mountain West

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Regional Picks: Deerproof Perennials - Midwest

Regional Picks: Deerproof Perennials - Northeast

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