Just found this information on deer resistance from Martha Stewart's site of all places. I know how everyone feels about Martha (and I feel the same way most of the time) but I thought I would pass it on: With more than 15 million deer in the United States, it’s hardly a surprise that our gardens fall prey to their grazing. Ken Twombly has lots of experience with deer at his nursery in Monroe, Connecticut. And he’s found that although few plants are entirely deer proof, some plants, such as oriental poppies, forget-me-nots, peonies, primroses, boxwood, salvia, and ferns, are more resistant than others. Deer will eat almost anything when they’re hungry; they especially love new growth. To protect your garden beds, consider using plants that act as natural barriers. Try edging a bed with low-growing, deer-resistant plants, such as Heuchera or Pulmonaria. Deer will browse the edging plant, be repelled, and move on. PLANT LIST DEER RESISTANT PLANTS Euphorbia dulcis ‘Chameleon’ E. cyparissais ‘Fen’s Ruby’ Salvia nemorosa ‘Blue Hill’ Spirea nipponica Boxwood, Buxus sempervirens Heuchera ‘Regal Robe’ Lungwort, Pulmonaria longifolia Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium nipponicum var pictum Pieris japonica ‘Valley Valentine’ It isn’t much of a problem for people living in heavily populated, urban areas, but for those in the country and the suburbs, deer can become a bane to the garden when they trample and eat your foliage. People have developed a number of tricks to deal with this difficulty—some of them effective, others that don’t work at all. Ken Twombly, owner of Twombly’s Nursery in Monroe, Connecticut, has a good deal of experience cordoning gardens from the reach of deer. Today, he shares some of his strategies and dispels a few myths. Deer, are creatures of habit, always approaching the same locations at the same times. The trick to confounding them is convincing the deer that each trip to your garden will be a waste of their efforts, that they will encounter the same deterrents with every visit. A fence is a good start, but deer have been known to jump over twelve-foot fences. However, a five-foot fence will act as a barrier simply because the deer can’t see what’s on the other side. If you choose to use a mesh fence, make sure it’s about seven-and-a-half feet tall, and check frequently for holes. Tapes of barking dogs, pie tins, and bags filled with human hair are sometimes thought to work, but in reality, they are unsightly, noisy, and minimally effective. On the other hand, sprays such as Tree Guard are very effective. Tree Guard was originally developed as a dental anesthetic but had an exceptionally bitter aftertaste, which is what makes it a hindrance to deer. There are, however, two downsides: You must be diligent in applying sprays, and many leave a whitish residue on the leaves (but this is better than having no foliage at all, says Ken). Apply it once in the fall and again in the spring. Another idea is to hang small hotel-size bars of soap out of sight on the inner branches of a shrub or tree. The deer are repelled by the oil, which has kept them away> I hope this helps out the folks, like me, who have to deal with deer eating their plants. RisaG