Grrrr. don't turn those innocent eyes on me! And that goes for your friend, Thumper, too! :)

I can tell you that so far, torenia has escaped any nibbling, although the Evergold carex right next to it has had regular haircuts all summer long. (Could be rabbits, too.)

My Profusion zinnias have never been touched, although I even found a baby rabbit in the bed one morning this summer. No damage! Ditto for marigolds, Lemonbird Cosmos and savia farinacea.

Last fall, the deer wiped out ten flats of pansies in one evening...I have added more electric deer shocking stakes this year. They seem to be very effective. Like you said, winter will tell the tale. Here's hoping.

The rabbits are another matter! They are worse in late winter, early spring... then the predators (hawk and fox) start hunting. I use I MUST GARDEN rabbit repellent during the early season, then stop using it once the zinnias are a foot high.

Cameron

What are electronic deer shocking stakes ??
I have 2 acres of gardens and a large pond and a herd of 10 deer in the front and 25+ in the back !!
I have tried everything - sprays, netting, deodorizers. They even eat my Yucca and roses !!! They started on the holly in June this year, instead of waiting until winter.
I was looking through old pictures of my garden remembering how beautiful it used to be . Going to a garden center is like walking down memory lane, seeing all the plants I used to have.
Daylilies are like caviar to deer.
They didn't eat: Rose of Sharon, obedient plant, ornamental grasses,tansy, sea oats (which I wish they would), butterfly bushes, milkweed.
I'll plant those you have suggested for next year, and see what happens !!

Cameron My son is in Stokesdale! With a new house and yard and sadly no interest in flowers etc, but his yard is a mess, barely covered with "grass". Oh, does he need help. Plus it's on a hill. What are your "grows anywhere" type plants??? I don't think he has deer in his neighborhood.

Grow anywhere plants that are perennials (oops -- this is an annuals forum, but my personal gardening blog is full of info on what I grow here in NC.)

nepeta (sun, poor soil)
agastache (sun, poor soil)
salvia greggii (sun, poor soil)

Here is a link that might be useful: my gardening blog

An update on the deer and the annuals.

They still haven't eaten the Benary's Giant Zinnias, so I'm planning to grow a big swath in my outer gardens next year.

You should give a list of what they do eat.

I'm not sure a what they do eat list would help any more than a list of what they don't eat. They eat my nicotiana (a tender perennial, grown as an annual), and that's supposed to be deer resistant? If they're desperate enough, they'll eat anything. What they really like to eat are my bulbs, pansies, and sanvitalia, along with heliotrope and pentas, and stock, all tender perennials grown as annuals. I can't keep them off the autumn clematis either, but it's a perennial. It's just that it's their favorite. Keeps it pruned and from seeding everywhere though, so there is that.

Most things are left alone. They don't seem to eat my morning glories, Salvia, Dianthus, Scabiosa, poppies, Phlox (annual. I don't have any perennial), Cynoglossum, Dahlberg daisy (Thymophylla), Calendula, Orlaya, larkspur, Kiss me over the Garden Gate, Nigella, Phacelia, petunias, Cosmos, sunflowers, snapdragons, cornflower, strawflower, Gilia, nasturtiums, and zinnias if that helps?