One of the best things about being an Extension Master Gardener is helping community members find the right perennials, shrubs, and trees to plant in their yards and garden. One of the worst things is telling them that if they live on the Middle Peninsula, they will likely have a deer problem.
Our white-tailed deer are always hungry. They graze continuously when no one is around. They aren’t very picky about what they eat, as long as the plant has tasty buds, tender leaves, or pretty flowers. Deer don’t eat strongly scented members of the mint family, especially those with gray, hairy, or fuzzy stems and leaves like Russian sage (Salvia yangii, formerly Perovskia atriplicifolia) and catmint (Nepeta x faassenii), but they will munch on many popular perennials and shrubs that grow well in our environment.
Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) and azaleas (Rhododendron spp.) are prime examples of deer salad bar favorites. Every spring, Gloucester gardeners complain about nipped daylily buds and a...