Deer-Resistant Ground Covers for Shade

Ground covers for shade that mostly escape deer browsing. Compare spread, height, and water needs for each one.

Dwarf Lilyturf

Black Snakeroot

Creeping Phlox

Devil's Ivy

Ground cover closes the gap between shrubs and lawn, and deer walk through it on the way to the border. These ground covers also take shade. Dry shade is the hardest place in the garden to plant, and some of these manage it. Most need very little after their first year.

ground covers: 98
hardiness zones: 3 to 12

Sweet Scented Bed Straw

Bowles Periwinkle

Coleus

Ajuga

These ground covers still put on a display, which is the part people expect to lose. There are ground covers flowering in spring through to late autumn, with colour running on when the rest of the garden has finished. Most of the colour is white and purple.

spring: 61
summer: 48
late autumn: 10

The variety runs deeper than the type suggests: there is enough variety to mix and match without repeating yourself. Carex, Viola and Asarum have the most entries, and woodland edges and borders are the commonest uses.

woodland edges: 65
borders: 62