Deer Resistant Water Plants

This just looks like an iris. It is actually Acorus. If you notice right in the center at the bottom, there is a tall skinny thing with a cream colored top and green bottom. That is the bloom. Obviously this isn't grown for the flower. It grows in water or just damp ground and isn't bothered by much. It multiplies nicely. Full sun to light shade would be its preference. The root is known as orris root and is used as a preservative for dried flowers and things. You use it when you make those pomander balls from oranges and cloves for scenting closets and drawers.

This is another acorus, but a miniature one. It also likes growing in shallow water. It is striped chartreuse and green, though in a lot of sun it might seem more gold. Fairly easy to grow. Expect it to grow a foot tall or so. Ours seems to prefer light shade.

Iris laevigata 'Albovariegata' is another of the water iris. I'll do a whole section of iris tomorrow, but these are just a few that are happy in a pond. This one likes full sun and has a purple flower.

Cattails and ponds seem like a natural thing, but unfortunately, cattails will quickly take over any pond in which they are put, so a bit of yearly maintenance is needed in weeding out the excess. That said, this striped one is great (and a bit smaller) than the all green ones.

For a very small pond, this is a perfect cattail since it only grows 18 inches tall. It's so cute people have trouble resisting it once they see it. Full sun for this one too.

This last one is recommended with reservations since it tends to be a bit invasive. It grows in water, likes sun, gets about 3 feet tall, and blooms in early summer with these lovely yellow buttercup flowers. It's name - Water Buttercup. My recommendation would be to give it a small pond all to itself. I love having it here, but am still pulling it out every year from the 2 places where I first planted it. It just crowds out everything else. That said, I will continue to grow it, just in a supervised situation.

I have not included any of the waterlilies because deer seem to love them. We didn't realize it until a very dry year when the deer were coming into our ponds to drink, and while they were already in the pond, they munched the waterlilies, blooms, leaves, tubers, just about anything. So they are definitely not safe from deer. Speaking of cute deer, on the way to buy groceries this afternoon, we saw a momma deer with a very tiny spotted baby. Soooooo cute. I just wish they would leave my garden alone.

Sorry I wasn't here yesterday, but I weeded in the fairy ring amongst the hostas from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon, after which I mowed the central grassy places. It looks gorgeous, but by after supper I could barely stay awake, so no writing - at least nothing coherent.

Tomorrow, a little tour of the iris gardens. Deer don't seem to have much liking for iris, thankfully, so if you can grow them, they should be pretty safe.

Jane