Deer and native plants: Will your garden get eaten?

There is no such thing as a totally deer-resistant plant. But native plants have a better chance of being nibble-free than most.

At the Haliburton Home and Cottage Show the other weekend when I was selling native plants, the #1 question (and #2 and #3) was: will the deer eat these?

(Also: what lies will you tell about the deer not eating these?)

Fair questions! We have, you may have noticed, lots of deer around here. And they like to eat plants.

Here’s my answer: there is no such thing as a totally deer-resistant plant. But these native plants have a better chance of being nibble-free than most.

Deer can be capricious beasts. I heard stories of a Hydrangea that lasted many years before – suddenly and apparently without reason – being eaten to the ground. Or Hostas that survived when all the neighbours’ plants had gone to the great salad bar in the sky.

Native plants and deer

Here is the definition of a native plant I like to use: a plant that has co-evolved with other plants and animals in its area. In other words, it’s a plant that fits nicely into the mosaic of ecology, where everything is in balance.

This co-evolution has led to some plants being less attractive to deer – it’s how they survive. And those that are attractive to deer have the ability to bounce back. So unless the deer population is out of whack (and, to be fair, it might be if deer are fed and wolves are scarce), everything works out just fine.

For the anxious owner of a natural garden, “just fine” means that deer will nibble some plants, but not all of them. They’re less likely to nibble native plants than non-native plants (which haven’t done the whole co-evolution thing).

And finally, as we plant so many plants because we’re mimicking a natural environment (instead of a few specimen exotics), if the deer eat a few, we don’t notice.

By and large, it all works out just fine.