Deer-resistant border kit

Deer Can't Even.

Everything in it tastes terrible to deer.

Salvia, catmint, lavender and ornamental onion: fuzzy, fragrant or oniony, which is exactly what deer skip. Rozanne geranium rambles through the front and blooms from June to frost. The bees, unlike the deer, love all of it.

12 plants · 5 kinds4 × 8 ft bedFull sun
$392.88
Same price as buying them one by one. The plan's on us.
Deer Can't Even
What it looks like

Year two. Then you brag.

Year two, mid-July. Each plant drawn at its full size.

1 ft345121 ft34512
  1. 1Salvia 'May Night' × 318–24 in. tall, 18–24 in. wide
  2. 2Allium 'Serendipity' × 315–20 in. tall, 10–15 in. wide
  3. 3Lavender 'Provence' × 22–3 ft tall and wide
  4. 4Catmint 'Kitten Around' × 212–14 in. tall, 20–22 in. wide
  5. 5Rozanne × 212–20 in. tall, 2–2.5 ft wide
What's in the box

12 plants, 5 jobs.

$89.97
In this kit: Purple spikes
Salvia × sylvestris

Meadow Sage

The salvia everyone else gets compared to.

The benchmark blue-violet salvia. Dense spikes of deep indigo-violet flowers from late May, repeating through summer when trimmed. The 1997 Perennial Plant of the Year, and still the standard for good reason.

Size18–24 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowLate spring into summer, reblooms LightfullZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Purple spikes
Salvia nemorosa

Salvia

Violet spikes. Bees on standby.

Deep violet, then again. Dense spikes of violet-purple flowers on a bushy clump of aromatic gray-green leaves. Shear it after the first flush and it comes back for a second round.

Size18–24 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowEarly summer, rebloom into fall with deadheading LightfullZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$110.97
In this kit: Late-summer globes
Allium

Ornamental Onion

Rosy-purple globes over blue leaves.

Purple globes, blue leaves. Rose-purple flower globes from midsummer over twisting blue-gray foliage that looks good from spring to fall. Pollinators cover it; deer and rabbits ignore it.

Size15–20 in. tall, 10–15 in. wideShowMidsummer into late summer LightfullZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Late-summer globes
Allium

Ornamental Onion

Purple pom-poms deer and rabbits skip.

Purple globes for midsummer. Glossy, grassy leaves and dozens of rose-purple globes in midsummer that hang on for weeks and dry well. Bees and butterflies cover them. Named Perennial Plant of the Year in 2018.

Size15–20 in. tall, 10–15 in. wideShowMidsummer into late summer LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$63.98
In this kit: The scent
Lavandula × intermedia

Lavandin

The one they bundle and dry.

Big scent, long stems. Long, loose wands of pale lavender flowers over silvery foliage, with the sweet, heavy scent lavender farms grow it for. It's the variety people cut for bundles and sachets.

Size2–3 ft tall and wideShowMidsummer LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: The scent
Lavandula × intermedia

Lavandin

Lavender that does not melt in July.

Lavender built for humid summers. Dense, silvery foliage and big, fragrant purple flower spikes on a plant bred to handle heat and humidity better than most. Bees cover it, and the cut stems dry beautifully.

Size18–30 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowEarly to late summer LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$61.98
In this kit: Soft blue edge
Nepeta × faassenii

Catmint

Compact, blue, and the bees agree.

Catmint that minds its manners. A tight, low mound of gray-green aromatic leaves under a haze of blue-violet flowers from late spring on. It stays compact instead of splaying open in midsummer like the big catmints.

Size12–14 in. tall, 20–22 in. wideShowLate spring to fall with a midsummer trim Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Soft blue edge
Nepeta × faassenii

Catmint

Neat catmint. Lavender-blue for months.

Catmint that keeps its shape. A neat, rounded mound of gray-green aromatic leaves under lavender-blue flowers from early summer into fall. It does not flop open in the middle the way older catmints do.

Size17–20 in. tall, 24–36 in. wideShowEarly summer into early fall Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$65.98
In this kit: June to frost
Geranium

Hardy Geranium

Violet-blue from June until frost.

The longest show in the bed. Violet-blue flowers with white centers and dark veins, from early summer to frost, on a sprawling mound that weaves between neighbors. Few perennials bloom this long.

Size12–20 in. tall, 2–2.5 ft wideShowEarly summer to frost Lightfull, partZones5–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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In this kit: June to frost
Nepeta × faassenii

Catmint

A tidy cloud of blue that bees love.

Catmint that stays in line. Gray-green, aromatic leaves in a tight, rounded mound that does not sprawl open in the middle. Blue-purple flower spikes cover it from late spring and keep coming after a trim.

Size12–18 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowLate spring through summer, rebloom into fall Lightfull, partZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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The whole kit: 12 plants + the planting planEvery plant picked for your zone. Arrives alive, or we replace it.
The planting plan

Dig here. Then here.

4 × 8 ft bedFull sunTap a plant for the details
Back · tallMiddleFront · low
↓ Front edge · path, lawn or walk
What blooms when
AprMayJunJulAugSepOct
1Salvia
2Allium
3Lavender
4Catmint
5Rozanne

Something in flower 6 of 7 months from April to October.

  1. 1Lay it outSet the pots on the soil to match the plan before you dig. Step back, nudge, then commit.
  2. 2Dig and dropEach hole twice as wide as the pot, just as deep. Crown level with the soil. Firm it in.
  3. 3Soak itWater deeply today, then weekly for a month. After that, mostly leave it alone.
Why it's laid out like this

Alliums and lavender at the back, salvia in the middle, catmint and Rozanne at the front where they can spill. Space 18 in. apart. Water weekly the first month, then only in a long dry spell.

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The Sunday Tip · every Sunday

One good plant idea,
every Sunday.

What to plant this week in your zone, every Sunday. New ways to plant and odd tricks that actually work.