{"id":7095,"date":"2026-05-04T01:36:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T08:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wrwofficial.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/deer-resistant-plants-in-katherines-spring-garden\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T01:36:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T08:36:22","slug":"deer-resistant-plants-in-katherines-spring-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wrwofficial.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/deer-resistant-plants-in-katherines-spring-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Deer-Resistant Plants in Katherine’s Spring Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Happy Monday GPODers!<\/p>\n

For many regions of North America spring has been slow to wake, but (based on the submissions that have begun rolling in) seasonal color has finally begun to emerge in a meaningful way. One gardener with some serious spring color in her small but mighty garden is Katherine Mendez (@katrmendez<\/a>) in Westchester, New York (Zone 6b\/7a)<\/em>. Katherine has only been gardening for four years and contends with a plentiful deer population that would happily make a meal out of her patch of plant beauty, but none of that is apparent from the spectacular spring color she has cultivated.<\/p>\n

My name is Katherine, and I have been gardening since 2022. I have a very casual and laid back gardening style. I live in wooded area with a lot of deer pressure and wildlife. My plants get nibbled on a lot, so I try to find plants most animals tend to avoid as a food source. Hyacinths, narcissus, helleborus, astilbe, and rhododendron are good deer resistant choices for my garden. This year I tried to intermingle hostas and hydrangeas with my flowering bulbs in hopes of protecting them from the deer. I used a diluted mix of peppermint and water, along with neem oil to mask the smell of the hostas before they emerge in the spring to prevent the deer from munching them down to nubs. My hope for the garden next year is to incorporate native plants for my 6b\/7a zone: Wild Geranium<\/em>\u00a0(<\/em>Geranium<\/a> maculatum, Zones 3\u20138), eastern red columbine\u00a0<\/em>(<\/em>Aquilegia<\/a> canadensis, Zones 3\u20138)<\/em>,\u00a0black cohosh (<\/em>Actaea<\/a> racemosa, Zones 3\u20138), along with spring ephemerals such as yellow trout lily\u00a0<\/em>(<\/em>Erythronium americanum, Zones 3\u20138), Dutchman\u2019s breeches (<\/em>Dicentra<\/a> cucullaria, Zones 3\u20137), bloodroot (<\/em>Sanguinaria canadensis, Zones 3\u20138), and red trillium<\/em> (<\/em>Trillium<\/a> erectum, Zones 4\u20137)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What I love about gardening is getting to experiment with a variety of plants and playing with different colors, shapes, and textures in a space. Now after expanding my horticulture knowledge, I realize the ecological importance of planting native species. So when I choose my plants now, I focus on the native range of the plant and what would work well for the area given the light and soil type (right plant, right place).<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>My garden!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Fritillaria<\/a>Checkered fritillary (<\/em>Fritillaria<\/a> meleagris, Zones 3\u20138) and behind is Tiny Tuff Stuff\u2122 mountain hydrangea<\/a><\/em> (<\/em>Hydrangea serrata \u2018MAKD\u2019<\/em>, Zones 4\u20139) I planted this year.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"mix<\/a>Empire State mix hyacinth<\/em> (<\/em>Hyacinthus \u2018Empire State Mix\u2019<\/em>, Zones 4\u20138), grape hyacinth<\/em> (<\/em>Muscari<\/a> armeniacum, Zones 4\u20138), Fortune\u2019s spindle<\/em> (<\/em>Euonymus fortunei, Zones 4\u20139)<\/em> (to be removed as it\u2019s considered to be invasive in my area), pink tulips, \u2018Eye Spy\u2019 foamy bells<\/em>\u00a0(<\/em>Heucherella \u2018Eye Spy\u2019<\/em>, Zones 4\u20139), \u2018Mahogany Monster\u2019 and \u2018Spearmint\u2019 coral bells (<\/em>Heuchera<\/a> \u2018Mahogany Monster\u2019 and \u2018Spearmint\u2019<\/em>, Zones 4\u20139), and a purple rhododendron from the last home owners (it has been here since 2004!).<\/em><\/p>\n

\"small<\/a>September 2025 (left) and April 2026 (right)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"shade<\/a>Here\u2019s a before and after of the part-shade garden! I removed the mass of English ivy (<\/em>Hedera helix), amended the soil, planted bulbs, and poorly attempted to prune the rhododendron (hopefully it bounces back and doesn\u2019t become too top heavy).<\/em><\/p>\n

\"purple<\/a>I love how fragrant hyacinths are!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"double<\/a>Lenten rose\/hellebore<\/em>\u2014Potentially the cultivar Winter Jewels\u00ae \u2018Rose Quartz (Helleborus<\/em><\/a> \u2018Rose Quartz\u2019, Zones 5\u20139)?<\/p>\n

Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful photos of your spring garden, Katherine! I\u2019m so impressed with the garden beauty you have cultivated and the horticulture knowledge you have acquired in four short years, and I hope we get to see future updates as your gardening journey continues.<\/p>\n

No matter where you are in your gardening journey, we would love to feature your garden on the blog! Please consider sharing photos of last year\u2019s highlights, favorite scenes through the seasons, or the interest that has emerged so far this year. Follow the directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We want to see YOUR garden!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Have photos to share? We\u2019d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!<\/p>\n

To submit, fill out the\u00a0Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You can also send 5\u201310 photos to\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We\u2019d love to hear where you are located, how long you\u2019ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.<\/p>\n

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet?\u00a0Sign up here<\/a><\/p>\n

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Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.<\/p>\n

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Organo Republic 16 Perennial Wildflower Seeds Mix for Indoor & Outdoors<\/p>\n

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.<\/p>\n

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