Protect Your Roses from Deer with THESE Perennials!
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Welcome back to Bountiful Gardens! We’re back in Ewing with Ike this week, celebrating the peak of our rose season! We had a full weekend of rain, and now that it’s sunny, these shrubs are bursting with blooms.
All Summer long, we carry a robust collection of Knockouts, Proven Winners, TrueBlooms and of course, our signature collection of David Austin roses.
But we’re not the only ones who enjoy these gorgeous blooms! Here in New Jersey, we famously have TONS of deer, and sometimes they like to nibble at these precious petals. But what if we told you that you could build a showy forcefield around them to help protect from any stray grazing?
Let’s check out some fragrant perennials that are in peak bloom right now and can help protect your roses!
Catmint - Nepeta
One of the first perennials we think of when it comes to creating a perennial deer barrier is going to be Catmint. These are incredible hardy perennials that have a light fragrance to them. If you plant them in groups around your rose bushes, it’ll tell the deer to stay away.
Hummingbird Mint - Agastache
For much the same fragrant reason, Agastache, or Hummingbird Mint is going to be a great option for deterring deer—they smell like sweet mint! These flowers are also edible to us—try popping them into your dishes for a sweet, minty-stevia flavor.
Meadow Sage - Salvia pratensis
Another plant commonly prized by gardeners as an aromatic shield is going to be Meadow Sage, or Salvia. Like the name suggests, these are related to true Sage, giving them that sweet aroma that will keep things like rabbits and deer away from your more precious plants.
Bellflower - Campanula
Some plants rely more on sheer toughness rather than fragrance to deter deer, and one of those plants is going be Campanula, or Bellflower. These showy blooms work really well when planted in a mass, and act as a sort of flowering ground cover.
Scotch Broom - Cytisus scoparius
Some deer-resistant perennials are tough as a broom, like Scotch Broom! These indestructible perennials are avoided by deer, making them perfect for protecting your roses. They come in reds, yellows, pinks, oranges and whites!
Foxglove - Digitalis purpurea
If you want a species that grows taller when planted up against a taller shrub or a climbing rose, you can check out Foxglove, or Digitalis. These work really well in full sun areas, they come in all different colors, they can handle light droughts, and their blooms last from late Spring into early Summer.
Mock Orange - Philadelphus
For a sweetly-scented shrub that works in perfect harmony with your roses, you can take a look at Mock Oranges. These have delicate clusters of white flowers that have a scent similar to citrus flower crossed with jasmine. Once established, they’re fairly deer-resistant and provide a nice contrast to the reds and pinks of rose bushes.
Virginia Sweetspire - Itea virginica
For a shrub that has the benefit of being both tough as nails and lightly fragrant, look at Virginia Sweetspire, or Itea. Our favorite is the ‘Little Henry’ variety—a compact shrub that will work really well when planted amongst your roses, as it will help deter deer AND in the Fall, it’ll turn a beautiful red color!
Here in New Jersey, it can be pretty tough to keep deer from eating whatever they want, but by planting strong garden beds of perennials that they definitely won’t want to touch, you’ll have a much better chance of protecting your more delicate shrubs, like your precious David Austin’s.
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