By George Weigel/The Patriot-News
Q: I live along a wooded area in the Hummelstown area. Whatever we plant in our beds - even those recommended by nurseries - the varmints end up eating. Is there anything you can recommend in the way of bushes, shrubs or perennials that animals (deer, rabbits, groundhogs, etc.) won't eat?
A: I can tell you some things that animals are least likely to eat, but when a deer in particular is hungry, he'll eat just about anything rather than starve - including the family SUV. Smaller animals can be destructive, too, but they seem to have pickier appetites. The problem is, like people, their tastes vary. Just because my rabbits don't like coreopsis doesn't mean yours won't.
In general, animals aren't fond of thick or fuzzy-leafed plants (lamb's ears, sedum, hollyhocks) and aromatic plants (mints, lavender, sage). They also favor young and tender shoots over older trunks and stems. For instance, a rabbit might keep gnawing a new oakleaf hydrangea or clematis to the ground but let alone the same plants after they're three or four years old.
So with those weasel words of warning, following are some plants that you might be able to get away with. A good strategy would be to try just one of something at a time as a sacrificial lamb. If it doesn't get eaten, then add more. That's better than buying 20 of something on the "no-eat list" and having it eaten.
Shrubs and evergreens to try: Clethra (summersweet), fragrant sumac, boxwood, juniper, bayberry, beautybush, butterfly bush, caryopteris, cotoneaster, daphne, enkianthus, hydrangea, forsythia, inkberry holly, lilac, leucothoe, Oregon grape holly, pieris, potentilla, red osier dogwood, rose-of-sharon, spirea, viburnum and St. John's wort.
Perennials to try: Most ornamental grasses, barrenwort, amsonia, euphorbia, gaillardia, goldenrod, ferns, agastache, monkshood, leadwort, Russian sage, salvia, daffodils, ajuga, artemisia, astilbe, bleeding heart, catmint, columbine, coralbells, coreopsis, foamflowers, foamybells, foxglove, goat's beard, hardy geranium, Lenten rose (Helleborus), lady's mantle, iris, lamium, liatris, mums, peony, turtlehead, veronica, yarrow.