Creating an all native garden becomes a challenge if deer are in the neighborhood. Rudbeckia, Echinacea and Asters are garden staples in the native garden but they are also deer food. Following is a list of plants that are native to Connecticut that we’ve found deer tend to avoid. These plants are not only native, they are plants that you might not of heard of. At Designing Eden LLC we are known for our planting designs and we sometimes use exceptional plants that no one has ever heard of. I do consider cultivars of native plants as native.





Gillenia trifoliata. Is a northeastern US native but does not naturally exist in Connecticut. This variety is called Pink Profusion. It prefers partial shade so it makes a good understory plant.





2 thoughts on “Deer Resistant Native Plants That You Might Not Think Of”
Gillenia trifoliata is beautiful. Where does one find Pink Profusion at retail? Thanks!
Wow, you certainly picked amazing natives. The Amsonia looks stunning with the Fothergilla. And the native phlox and geum really pack a punch in mass planting. I’ve recently been using Piet Oudolf’s natives plant list, and like you he uses cultivars too. So far this year I added Calamintha Nepeta (which I love), Sporobolus Heterolepsis, Asclepias Tuberosa, Agastache Blue Fortune and Little Adder, Allium, Monarda Claire Grace, and Horsemint and I have so many more pollinators and birds visiting. Just adding a few natives makes a huge difference!