Pittsburgh Metro Realty Check

Any realtor will tell you that curb appeal—landscaping, colorful flowers, a weed-free garden—is essential to attracting home-buyers. But that’s a lot easier said than done when those beautiful flowers are just another all-you-can-eat buffet for Bambi. Of course, fencing and weekly spraying of deer repellent products are two possibilities, but the third—and much more practical option for the home-seller—is to plant tried-and-true deer-resistant plants. Even better is to plant those that will keep on blooming and keep on giving your house curb appeal. You might still see a little nibble here and there—that’s one way the deer discover they don’t like your taste in plants!

So here’s my list of what to plant for long-lasting appeal and to shut down Bambi’s buffet:

Flowers (including Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs & Herbs):

• Ageratum
• Angel’s Trumpet
• Anise Hyssop
• Basket of Gold
• Bleeding Heart
• Bluebell
• Butter & Eggs
• Cactus
• Chamomile (False Chamomile/Matricaria sp.)
• Christmas Rose (Lenten Rose/Helleborus sp.)
• Coreopsis (Threadleaf/Coreopsis verticillata)
• Corydalis
• Crocus (Autum/Colchicum sp.)
• Daffodil
• Dusty Miller
• Cleome (Spider Flower)
• False Indigo
• Forget-Me-Not
• Foxglove
• Fritilia (Crown Imperial)
• Heliotrope
• Horehound
• Jack-in-the-Pulpit
• Larkspur
• Lavender
• Lavender Cotton
• Lemon Balm
• Lungwort
• Marigold
• Marjoram
• Monkshood
• Nicotiana (Flowering Tobacco)
• Oregano
• Ornamental Onions (Allium sp.)
• Poppy
• Rock Cress & Purple Rock Cress
• Rocket Ligularia & Bigleaf Ligularia
• Rodgers Flower
• Rose Campion
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Siberian Bugloss
• Siberian Squill
• Silver Mound
• Snapdragon
• Snow-on-the-Mountain
• Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)
• Statice
• Strawflower
• Sweet Alyssum
• Tarragon
• Thyme
• Vinca (Annual/Catharanthus rosea)
• Winter Aconite

Ferns:

• Christmas Fern
• Cinnamon Fern
• Hayscented Fern
• Holly Fern
• Japanese Painted Fern
• New York Fern
• Ostrich Fern
• Royal Fern
• Sensitive Fern
• Wood Fern

Ornamental Grasses:

• Blue Fescue
• Blue Oat Grass
• Bluestem (Big & Little)
• Feather Reed Grass
• Giant Reed
• Hakonechloa
• Hard Rush
• Indian Grass
• Japanese Sweet Flag
• Large Blue June Grass
• Lyme Grass
• Northern Sea Oats
• Oriental Fountain Grass
• Purple Moor Grass & Variegated Purple Moor Grass
• Ravena Grass
• Weeping Love Grass

Groundcovers:

• Barrenwort
• Bearberry
• Creeping Wintergreen
• Lily of the Valley
• Lilyturf
• Plumbago
• Sweet Woodruff

Shrubs:

• Arrowwood Viburnum
• Bayberry
• Blue Mist Shrub
• Broom
• Bush Cinquefoil
• Butterfly Bush
• Common Boxwood
• Daphne
• Drooping Leucothoe
• Fragrant Sumac
• Heath
• Heather
• Holly (John T. Morris & Lydia Morris)
• Japanese Plum Yew
• Japanese Skimmia
• Juniper (Moonglow & Prince of Wales)
• Leatherleaf Mahonia
• Oregon Grape Holly
• Pieris (Japanese & Mountain)
• Russian Cypress
• Sweet Box

Sources: Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension Center; Murrysville Environmental Advisory Council/Pia van de Venne