I am trying to come up with some nice low-maintainance do-it-yourself
landscaping for my deer-ridden, clay-filled backyard in central NJ
(zone 6). The property was landscaped once-upon-a-time before we got
here but it has assorted roses and bushes surrounded by mulch. But
the deer have chewed up the roses. And with 2 small children, I
haven't had the time or the energy to keep up with the mulch and the
weeds that poke thru. A neighbor has Bischop's ivy all along her
house which looks nice and seems to not require much work. But I was
looking into using geranium macrorrhizum or pulmonaria to add flowers
and color. I've also heard that Bischop's ivy can be more trouble
than it's worth.

Anyway, here are my questions. One of the few plants that the deer
have left alone are some nice rhododendron bushes. If I plant the
geranium macrorrhizum or pulmonaria will it choke out the rhodies?
Can I plant around/near them? Also, (dumb newbie question) will they
hurt the house? Will they be hard to keep from encroaching on the
lawn? There is currently no physical divider. And will bees become a
problem?

Thanks for any help,
Maggie

PS. We have EXTREMELY aggressive deer here. (No NJ jokes please
forgit about it!) They have literally climbed up my front stairs (5
steps), to eat mums and regular geraniums out of containers. So to
add to the general knowledge of the group, I can say with utmost
confidence that vinca minor and rhodies are as deer-resistant as you
can get. I plant vinca near my mailbox out front and the deer won't
go near it. But I want a perennial for the house for lower
maintainance/less digging every year.