Living in Oxfordshire boasts plenty of advantages, with the local wildlife certainly being one of them. Idyllic Oxfordshire is home to a large deer population, with six different species known to wander the county. However, the deer population can be detrimental to garden lovers, with the creatures known to feast on various hedge plants and flowers.
As the winter comes around and food becomes more difficult to locate, deer will come to forage in gardens and farmlands in search of a tasty snack. Here we look into 5 hedge plants that should help deter those deer from eyeing up your beloved garden.
1) Boxwood
Boxwood (Buxus) is a traditional garden hedge plant with straight and neat lines. It is attractive, soft, tight, and will bloom into a full dark green evergreen garden hedge over the summertime. This particular hedge plant repels deer as it contains alkaloids which are distasteful to deer, and it’s evergreen foliage possesses such a strong scent. This plant can eventually grow up to 3 meters tall and can also grow in containers.
2) Lonicera Nitida
Wildlife tends to leave this hedge plant alone. It has glossy dark leaves that will form a dense evergreen hedge at medium height. As a general rule, we recommend keeping it below 1.5 meters tall to avoid becoming too floppy.
3) Russian Sage
Deer will tend to not pay much attention to perennials with fragrant foliage. Russian sage is beautiful, comes with a lovely scent (although the deer might not think so), and requires minimal maintenance.
4) Rosemary
Like a lot of entries on this list, the smell of this hedge plant is what particularly deters deer. Rosemary’s compact shape and decorative foliage make a great addition to any garden.
5) Lavender
Deer will tend to avoid plants with hairy foliage, and this in conjunction with the plants aroma will help to put them off. Large lavender blue panicles will blossom above a deeply cut foliage in late summer time.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, and deer are certainly unpredictable when it comes to selecting their next meal, so you can never be too sure your latest planting efforts are safe. A common theme of this selection of perennials, shrubs, and flowers is the fragrance – so if you’re looking to repel deer then a heavily scented hedge plant might be the best option for you.
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