Deer-Resistant Native Plants for Maryland Gardens

One honest caveat: "deer-resistant" is not "deer-proof." A hungry enough deer — especially in late winter, or a young buck testing new growth — will sample almost anything, and tender new plantings are most vulnerable. Think of this as "plants deer prefer to skip," and protect new installs for the first season while they establish.

Perennials & WildflowersThe backbone of the garden — color and pollinator value spring through fall.

• Pycnanthemum muticum — Mountain Mint. Minty foliage deer won't touch; arguably the single best pollinator plant you can grow here.
• Monarda fistulosa — Wild Bergamot. Aromatic leaves, lavender flowers swarmed by bees and hummingbirds.
• Baptisia australis — Blue False Indigo. Tough, long-lived, shrub-like; foliage deer avoid.
• Amsonia tabernaemontana — Eastern Bluestar. Milky sap they dislike; sky-blue spring flowers, golden fall foliage.
• Asclepias tuberosa — Butterfly Weed. A milkweed deer skip and monarchs depend on.
• Aquilegia canadensis — Wild Columbine. Delicate red-and-yellow spring blooms; rarely browsed.
• Rudbeckia fulgida — Black-eyed Susan. Coarse, hairy leaves deer dislike; Maryland's state flower.
• Penstemon digitalis — Foxglove Beardtongue. Seldom touched; bumblebees disappear into the flowers headfirst.
• Solidago rugosa — Goldenrod. Late-season gold deer pass by. (And no — it doesn't cause hay fever.)
• Eutrochium purpureum — Joe Pye Weed. Tall, architectural, butterfly-covered; deer leave it alone.

FernsDeer almost never eat ferns — the easiest win for a shady, browsed yard.

• Polystichum acrostichoides — Christmas Fern. Evergreen, tidy, thrives in dry shade.
• Dryopteris marginalis — Marginal Wood Fern. Evergreen and unfussy.
• Adiantum pedatum — Maidenhair Fern. Airy, elegant, for moist shade.

Grasses & SedgesDeer largely ignore them — and they carry the garden through winter.

• Schizachyrium scoparium — Little Bluestem. Blue-green in summer, copper in fall, structure all winter.
• Panicum virgatum — Switchgrass. Upright and airy; excellent four-season screen or backdrop.
• Carex pensylvanica — Pennsylvania Sedge. A soft native alternative to lawn in dry shade.

ShrubsThe bones — and several are pleasantly fragrant, which is exactly why deer skip them.

• Lindera benzoin — Spicebush. Aromatic; host plant for the spicebush swallowtail; happy in shade.
• Clethra alnifolia — Summersweet. Intensely fragrant summer flowers; tolerates wet, shady spots.
• Itea virginica — Virginia Sweetspire. White spring blooms, brilliant crimson fall color.
• Fothergilla major — Fothergilla. Spring bottlebrushes, spectacular orange-red autumn foliage.
• Myrica cerifera — Wax Myrtle. Aromatic, fast-growing evergreen screen; shrugs off poor and wet soils.

Ground CoversFor carpeting bare ground instead of buying mulch every spring.

• Packera aurea — Golden Groundsel. Spreads happily in shade; toxic foliage deer avoid; cheerful yellow spring bloom.
• Phlox subulata — Moss Phlox. A sunny spring carpet of pink, white, or lavender.
• Sedum ternatum — Woodland Stonecrop. A native succulent ground cover for part shade.

See also: Native Plants for Dry Shade · Best Native Plants for Pollinators · All guides