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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Rabbit/deer proof plants

2 replies

funnelfan · 17/04/2023 10:50

As title really. Looking for ideas for plants/bushes, other than pyracantha, that are not edible for both rabbits and deer and can cope with shady conditions? Bonus points if they’re native and/or wildlife friendly.

The context is that we have a strip of land at the bottom of our garden that belongs to the neighbouring landowner, who has planted a hedge 6 feet inside their boundary. They don’t maintain the land between their fence and our boundary, but are happy for us for plant some bushes on it. We still maintain our boundary so it’s not a land grab, but our own fence is very low so having the bushes there will be preferable to the 4 feet tall nettles that usually grow in the neglected land. We currently have some hebe and rosemary bushes that are nicely growing in cylindrical shape inside a plastic barrier, trimmed by the wild rabbits that live in the next field and topped by deer that visit occasionally. Pyracantha are surviving well in the sunny spots.

OP posts:
YouveGotToGrooveIt · 17/04/2023 14:05

I also once had a garden with free roaming deer and rabbits - though mine was full sun and you don't say how shady you have it.

Foxgloves tick all those boxes.
Allliums can grow in partial shade.
My hellebores gre without too much hassle.
Mahonia is good in shade and I would expect pretty safe, due to it's spike leaves. For that reason, holly as well.
I think hydrangas are deer resistant and like shade.

GretaGood · 18/04/2023 06:38

Deer eat our shrubs in the winter when grass is thin,
So our flowering summer shrubs are ok. Deutzia, Kolkwitzia, wiegela.
Our rabbits have disappeared, but we have a hare that seems to eat anything! But again in the winter mainly.
The deer eat some veg in the garden but not leeks, kale or potatoes.

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