The BEST Deer Resistant Plants for Your Shady Woodland Garden!
- Media Manager
- Jul 18, 2025
- 2 min read
Welcome back to Bountiful Gardens! If you’re like us, the garden is your sanctuary–the place where you can really find your zen. The last thing you want in such a sacred space is for a hungry deer to come munchin’ on through your precious plants!
If you have a shady woodland garden that commonly gets visited by deer, this is the video for you! This week, we’ll be covering some of the best deer-resistant, shade-tolerant plants you can add to your landscape to protect your peace.
For bright Spring blooms and showy Summer foliage that deer will walk right past, Brunnera and Hellebores make excellent choices, and are perfect companion plants!
To keep your deer-resistant woodland garden blooming through the summer, be sure to mix in some Astilbe and Ligularia, which can turn any shady space into a vibrant flower show.
Dry shady spots can pose a challenge for many plants, but not Barrenwort! These guys come in so many flower colors and foliage shapes, allowing you to create your own custom blend of Spring-blooming splendor. Even better, they’re Evergreen!
Another shade-loving, early-blooming perennial that hangs onto its leaves year-round is Bergenia. Thanks to their squeaky, leathery leaves, deer typically pass these perennials by.
If you’re looking to get more height and fill more space in the shade, Andromeda, Mahonia, Leucothoe, Mountain Laurel and Skimmia are five beautiful evergreen shrubs offering fragrant early Spring flowers in Whites, Pinks and Yellows.
For shady, wet sites, Clethra is hard to beat. These native shrubs are a magnet for pollinators in the Summer, sending out vanilla-spice-scented spires that you’ll adore and deer will avoid.
For an even bigger statement in a moist shady spot, Bottlebrush Buckeye is a native, colony-forming showstopper with huge white Summer blooms and characteristic palmate leaves.
Finally, while they may not flower, ferns are some of the most beautiful and diverse plants you can add to your shade garden.
There’s a fern for any shady site and soil condition, and no matter what variety you choose, you won’t have to worry about them becoming deer food.
Like we’ve said in the past, there’s no such thing as a “deer-proof” plant, but species like the ones we discussed today will give your woodland garden its best shot to thrive alongside our high deer populations here in the northeast.
So don’t let your shady spot get munched any longer! Come on out to Bountiful Gardens and find your perfect deer-resistant plants today! Watch all of the above in dazzling video form below!
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