06/24/2026
Fulfilling a promise to a customer, who lives north of Lakefield in cottage country and wanted to know about deer-resistant plants (there is no such thing as a deer-proof plant, no matter what anyone tells you).😁
“Deer-resistant gardening” in Central Ontario is an ongoing challenge, as deer are very adaptable and will eat just about anything, native or not. If you are in a cottage area there’s an additional factor to consider as you’re in a natural area (so you should be aware of non-native and especially invasive species) and, depending on how often you are at your cottage, watering can also be a concern.
As gardener Paul Avellino says, “Deer aren’t brave, they’re cautious, and once you understand that you stop trying to fight them and start messing with their comfort.”
Deer usually skip plants with strong scent, rough texture, or toxic compounds, which is why lavender, hellebores, and monkshood appear on many deer-resistant lists. They also tend to avoid strong smelling herbs such as oregano, mint, rosemary, and sage, making kitchen-garden borders a practical choice near patios or pathways. I have even seen gardeners hang bars of strong soap (like Irish Spring) around their gardens.
Avellino also mentions that motion activated sprinklers are one of the best tools he has used. “Nothing humbles a deer faster than getting blasted in the face at 2 am. It doesn’t hurt them, but it teaches them real quick that your garden is unpredictable.” Whatever deterrent you think of using, you have to rotate it – if something stays the same, deer get used to it. Move things around. Change the “threat.”
A good strategy is to layer a few dependable deer-resistant plants together instead of relying on one species alone. In colder Ontario sites, pick plants that also tolerate snow load, winter wind, and the region’s moisture patterns, because a plant that resists deer but fails in winter is not good value. If deer pressure is high, fencing remains the most dependable backup, since deer can jump about 8 feet.
Baz Conlin from Haliburton Micromeadows Native Plant Nursery recommends a few key plants that he has found that are less attractive to deer such as Slender Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angilae), White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata), Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), Pussytoes (Antennaria howellii and neglecta) and native grasses like Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Side-oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula).
I also recommend catmints (Nepeta) with their great purple flowers and minty scented foliage, any of the hyssops, nodding wild onion, butterfly w**d, lance-leaved coreopsis, and black-eyed Susans, most of the goldenrods (including stiff goldenrod) and any of the native ornamental grasses like Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepsis), and the switchgrasses Panicum virgatum).
Please also source your plants from nurseries local to your area wherever possible - they will be tougher and adjusted to your environment.
Always fence or protect in some way new plantings if deer are an issue, and whatever you do, don’t plant hostas – that’s like inviting them to a candy store!
