"Barry & Iris McCanna" wrote in message
...

"Pinot Grigio" wrote in message
...
More by accident than design, at the moment my garden looks really
good, but
in a few weeks time, there will be very little flowering.
I have a major problem and that is DEER. We love having them in the
garden
really and the plants that are growing at the moment the deer more
or less
leave alone. The real garden problem is slugs.
Currently, I have aqualegia, foxgloves, (Michaelmas?) daisies,
forget-me-nots, osteospernum, iris (lemon stinky iris?).
Coming soon, dusty millers (white & dark pink), a type of cottage
iris, and
a variety of poppies. Then almost nothing apart from the odd plant
that has
survived the deer like japanese anemone, hollyhocks.
The only bedding plants I get are busy-lizzies as if I sort of hide
them,
the deer don't eat all of them! The rest are a waste of money. If
the deer
don't eat them, the slugs will, or the squirrels will dig them up!
What I really want, are more cottage garden type plants that will
flower
July onwards and self-seed like most of the current plants do.
Any suggestions please? I don't like red colours much and
definitely not
orange.


Apart from those you've mentioned, here Polemonium self-seed as do
astrantia, violas, hardy geraniums, anemone sylvestris, euphorbia,
just to name a few. Penstemons are great as the slugs don't touch
them - don't know about deer though!

Iris McCanna

Thanks for replying.
Polemonium - a new name for me but I've looked it up and I like it. Is it a
name not often seen in the garden centre? I will check it out next time.
Astrantia - I have a variegated variety that does very well.
Violas - they do well and seed themselves around. They mostly seem to be
early flowering though.
Anemone - They do ok in my garden. I have a few spring varieties and the
japanese anemone that will flower around July.
Eurphorbia - I have one type that grows like a weed! The deer don't eat it
though.
Penstemons - I like these and usually buy a few plants. They don't often
survive till the following year though.
I don't have a greenhouse (yet) and for now have given up trying to grow
plants from seed unless they seed themselves or the seed can be sewn in the
garden. Probably why the early plants do well is that they have had a
chance to grow before the slugs and snails have taken over.