What to Grow Now | Deer-Resistant Natives
Oh, deer. Nearly everyone who gardens on the East End has experienced the heartbreak of waking up to nubby, nibbled roses or freshly planted hydrangeas stripped bare overnight. While no garden will ever be completely deer-proof, layering a mix of pollinator-supporting natives whose fragrance, foliage, or bitter sap Bambi and friends generally find unpalatable is a great place to start.
For foundation plantings and low hedges that deliver beauty—not deer—consider fragrant summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), which perfumes the garden with creamy white flower spikes in late July and August, or Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), with its clusters of white flowers and crimson fall foliage. Other options include scented, bird-friendly inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) as well as northern bayberry (Morella pensylvanica) and feathery sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina), two aromatic beauties that also help stabilize slopes and dunes.
If wildlife is snacking on your flowers, opt for native perennials with fragrant foliage or milky sap. A good example is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), which produces brilliant tangerine blooms, does well in sandy soils, and helps sustain imperiled monarch butterflies. Pair it with fragrant mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), whose tiny white flowers attract native bees, or the upright purple flower spikes of dense blazing star (Liatris spicata), another pollinator favorite.
Happily, mature native grasses rarely tempt grazing deer, making them an excellent way to introduce height and graceful movement to borders and meadows. Beloved for its airy seed heads that shimmer in the slightest breeze, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a great example, as is little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), with blue-green blades that mature to rich shades of copper and burgundy in fall. In shadier locales, curtail Bambi’s grazing with soft, lawn-like Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), a reliable groundcover that requires little to no mowing, or glossy wild ginger (Asarum canadense), an elegant, slow-spreading woodland beauty that thrives in shady spots where traditional turf struggles.
While it’s nearly impossible to stop these four-legged creatures from foraging in your yard, planting deer-resistant natives can tip the odds in your favor—and make it far less likely that your landscape becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet for the neighborhood herd.
A Garden Scent
Fresh mint and basil, pea tendrils, African rosemary, and golden ginger lend Flamingo Estate’s new Green Goddess candle ($64) the just-picked scent of a lush herb garden after a summer rain. A great gift for yourself or your favorite hostess, the candles are hand-poured in Los Angeles using vegetable wax, all-natural essential oils, and recycled glass, and will burn for about 55 hours.
Fire It Up
Inspired by the iconic freestanding fireplaces of the 1960s, Neighbor’s sculptural wood-burning Totem chiminea ($4,500) features a rounded steel firebox and six-foot-tall chimney that directs smoke overhead while radiating warmth toward nearby guests. Available in four porcelain-enamel colors, the modern outdoor fireplace makes an eye-catching focal point when summer nights cool off. Thoughtful details, including an elevated fire grate and removable ash pan, keep maintenance refreshingly simple.
In Full Bloom
For summer bouquets that last a week or longer, follow these simple steps.
- If you have a cutting garden, snip your flowers in the morning when blooms are freshest. At farmstands and grocery stores, choose flowers with firm stems and pert, well-hydrated blooms with no brown edges. For added assurance, tip the bundle upside down and give it a gentle shake: If there’s a shower of petals, keep looking.
- Next, fill a vase with a quart of lukewarm water and a packet of flower food, such as Floralife. You can also make a homemade version by combining two tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar—this lowers the pH of the water and helps blooms retain their color longer—with a tablespoon of sugar and a small splash of household bleach, which suppresses bacteria and prevent stem rot.
- Before placing flowers in a vase, cut stems on the diagonal to create more surface area for water intake, and remove any foliage that falls below the water line.
- For best results, change the water, remake the solution, and retrim stems every two to three days. Keep your flowers out of direct sun and away from heat sources, and never place arrangements near fresh fruit, such as apples, avocados, bananas, cantaloupes, peaches, plums, or tomatoes, as they release ethylene gas as they ripen and will noticeably reduce the life span of your arrangement.
