'Deer-proof' plants do not really exist, except for the very poisonous and extremely thorny, which are usually not what we desire in our personal landscapes. But there are many plants which deer tend to avoid, year 'round or depending upon the season and what else is growing around them. Avoiding 'target' plants which deer clearly love is very important - once they come down to sample these, they often do damage to other neighboring plants as well, even those they don't eat. By the same token, planting many species which they find unpalatable will help to 'hide' other species which they have been known to enjoy. It is an ongoing challenge prone to regional differences, but the plants listed here are generally known to be 'good risks'.

Eschscholzia hybrids

Iberis umbellata

Narcissus trumpet hybrids

Ribes sanguineum

Solanum rantonnetii 'Lynn's Variegated'

plants by special circumstances

good deer 'risks'

Artemisia 'Huntington'

Clarkia hybrids

Epilobium canum

Kerria japonica - Japanese rose

Muscari armeniacum - grape hyacinth

Senecio vira-vira

Sisyrinchium californicum

Wisteria sinensis

Adiantum - maidenhair fern, five-finger fern

Agave - agave

Allium - flowering onion

Aloe

Amaryllis belladonna - naked lady

Antirrhinum majus - snapdragon

Arctostaphylos - manzanita

Aristida purpurea - purple three-awn grass

Aristolochia - dutchman's pipe vine

Armeria - sea thrift

Artemisia - sagebrush

Atriplex - saltbush

Baccharis - coyote bush

Berberis - barberry

Borago - borage

Bothriochloa barbinodis - silver beardgrass

Brahea - fan palm

Buddleja - butterfly bush

Bupleurum fruticosum

Calamagrostis - reedgrass

Calocedrus decurrens - incense cedar

Calycanthus occidentalis - spice bush

Campsis - trumpet vine

Centaurea - dusty miller

Cestrum

Chaenomeles - flowering quince

Chamaerops humulis - Mediterranean fan palm

Cheiranthus - wallflower

Chilopsis linearis - desert willow

xChitalpa tashkentensis

Chrysanthemum maximum - see Leucanthemum maximum

Clarkia

Clematis

Corydalis

Cotinus coggygria - smoke bush

Crataegus - hawthorn

Cytisus - broom

Daphne

Datura - angel's trumpets

Delphinium - larkspur

Dicentra - bleeding hearts

Digitalis - foxglove

Diospyros - persimmon

Drimia maritima - sea squill

Dryopteris - wood fern

Dudleya - live-forever

Echium

Epilobium - California fuchsia

Erica - heather

Eriogonum - buckwheat

Eryngium - sea holly

Eschscholzia - California poppy

Euphorbia - spurge

Euryops

Fagus - beech

Festuca - fescue

Ficus - fig

Foeniculum vulgare

Fraxinus - ash

Galanthus - snowdrops

Gaura lindheimeri

Gleditsia triacanthos - honey locust

Grindelia - gum plant

Helianthus - sunflower

Heliotropium arborescens - heliotrope

Helleborus - Christmas rose

Hesperoyucca whipplei - Our Lord's candle

Iberis - candytuft

Ilex - holly

Ipomoea - morning glory

Isomeris arborea - bladderpod

Iva hayesiana - poverty weed

Juniperus - juniper

Kerria japonica - Japanese rose

Kniphofia - poker plant

Lantana

Lavandula - lavender

Lepechinia - pitcher sage

Leucanthemum maximum - shasta daisy

Leucojum - snowflakes

Lewisia - cliff maids

Leymus - wild rye

Lobelia

Lonicera - honeysuckle

Lupinus - lupine

Lyonothamnus floribundus - Catalina ironwood

Madia - tarweed

Melia azedarach - china-berry tree

Melica - melic grass

Mimulus - monkeyflower

Monardella - coyote mint

Muhlenbergia - deer grass

Muscari - grape hyacinth

Myrica californica - Pacific wax myrtle

Narcissus - daffodils, jonquils

Nassella - needle grass

Nerium oleander

Nicotiana - flowering tobacco

Nolina - bear grass

Opuntia - prickly pear cactus

Papaver - poppy

Penstemon - penstemon

Peucedanum graveolens - dill

Phacelia

Phoenix - date palm

Philodendron selloum

Phlomis - Jerusalem sage

Phormium - New Zealand flax

Picea - spruce

Pinus - pine

Plumbago auriculata - blue plumbago

Polygonum aubertii - silver lace vine

Polypodium - polypody fern

Punica granatum - pomegranate

Quercus - oak

Quillaja saponaria - soapbark tree

Ratibida columnaris - Mexican hats

Rhus

Rhododendron

Ribes - flowering currant

Romneya coulteri - Matilija Poppy

Rosmarinus officinalis rosemary

Salvia (some) - sage

Salvia lavandulifolia - Spanish sage

Sambucus racemosa - red elderberry

Santolina - lavender cotton

Satureja douglasii - yerba buena

Scilla

Senecio

Senna

Sequoia sempervirens - coast Redwood

Sisyrinchium bellum - blue-eyed grass

Sisyrinchium californicum - golden-eyed grass

Solanum - nightshade

Solidago

Soporobolus airoides - alkali sacaton

Spiraea

Stachys

Symphoricarpos - snowberry

Symphytum - comfrey

Tagetes - marigold

Tecoma stans

Teucrium germander

Trachelospermum jasminoides - star jasmine

Tropaeolum majus - nasturtium

Urginea maritima - see Drimia maritima

Verbascum - mullein

Washingtonia filifera - California fan palm

Washingtonia robusta - Mexican fan palm

Wisteria

Woodwardia fimbriata - giant chain fern

Yucca

Yucca whipplei - see Hesperoyucca whipplei

Zantedeschia aethiopica - calla lily

Zauschneria - see Epilobium