Royal Burgundy (Gentry Cultivar) or Crimson Pygmy barberry will stay under 2' or if you need a taller one, 'Royal Cloak' will be in 4-5' range. Full sun for the best color.
Definitely a deer-proof.

Weigelas 'Midnight Wine' (2') and 'Wine and Roses'(5') both are deep burgundy-purple, though I don't know if deers are interested in them. Full sun.

Lobelia 'Queen Victoria', 3-4'. Suposedly deer-resistant. Full to part sun.

ego45,

thank you so much for your suggestions. I really like the suggestion for the barberry and weigela -- those two never crossed my mind. And I didn't know that deer don't like lobelia. I'll have to try it and post back with my success/failure.

thanx again for your wonderful suggestions.

I was going to suggest the crimson barberry also - deer hate anything prickly.

odd. they eat roses. actually if they are hungry enough i have seen them eat most anything. they seem to avoid grasses and digitalis (and other things that they know make them sick).

Yep, they love roses! They were at mine all summer.

They never did touch the Rose Campion or any of the Digitalis. Digitalis Mertonensis (Strawberry Foxglove) sounds like a colour you'd go for in that garden. Another thing you might consider jxa44 is hardy geraniums. Some bloom in a nice old rose colour.

There are also hydrangeas... I introduced a red one to the gardens this fall, and there's also the pink ones.

Chocolate Eupatorium - Joe Pye Weeds cousin - has wonderful foliage which is a dark burgundy.

Ever think of Peonies?? Lots of shades to choose from and foliage also comes in several tones.

Cimicifuga (Bugbane)- I have one which has burgundy foliage. Nice plant and the scent of the flowers is quite the bonus.

Out of all the above mentioned, the Hydrangeas are the only plants which I expect the deers to nibble on at our house, but they don't because they prefer the Phlox Paniculatas and the Hostas.

tiffy,

you couldn't be more right about the roses -- i had 250 when we first moved here. Silly me, I thought I could protect from the deer. But the deer in my neighborhood were having none of that, and ate them to the ground as if they were eating their last death row meal. so i've pretty much given up growing roses here.

I have (and absolutely love) Digitalis Mertonensis. I love the "cottage style" look in the garden. Someone else in an earlier post suggested that I try cranesbill geraniums -- so i ran out and bought a bunch of those. I'm keeping my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that the deer here will find them distasteful. :-D I also have tons of peonies -- which I love in the early spring. But after that, they're really kinda boring. So I was hoping for plants that would give me lots of all season color. Never thoght of bugbane -- will have to "google" it.

As for hydrangeas. silly me, that was my second favorite flower -- you know, with the soft cottagey look and all. The deer came in droves to eat them to the ground. I literally had nothing left. Broke my heart.

bean counter,

I meant to say earlier that I love your picture -- such a pretty plant!

Thanx everyone for your input. If I have success next season with a "real" garden, I promise to post pictures of your suggestions in my garden.

Happy gardening to all -- have you started getting your catalogs yet?

Yes, they do eat roses, but barberry is quite different. A mouthful of that stuff isn't pleasant. My sister lives in deer country and no plant is safe in any given year depending on how hungry or how many there are. So it's not foolproof, but as a general rule, they will avoid the prickliest stuff. Her barberry has never been eaten.

Knautia Mars Midget

Nice low growing red, deer havent eaten here.
Cut down in middle of summer for a second bloom.
There are also a few taller varieties.
People think they are pin cushion plants in our gardens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mars Midget

Have you thought of Cardinal Flower? It likes a bit of damp ground and will work in semi shade. I found a darker reddish leaved, red flowering one this fall. It had several stalks coming up from the pot, so should fill out some for ground cover. It is taller, 2ft, but great, bright red flowers over a long time period. Leaf color could vary depending on how much sun it gets. I just got this one, no idea on summer foliage color or shades of red.

My Cardinal Flowers bloom in mid-summer. But new stalks will grow, flower again if old flowers are trimmed back. I actually have flowers on this reddish plant today! Snowed here last night!!

There are blue, salmon and purple flowering Cardinal Flowers too, but not sure if any others have the red foliage of the first one. I like my Cardinal Flowers a lot, have several planted for the long season of color and to feed the Hummingbirds and Butterflies.

I am not sure how the deer like it, my fenced yard dog keeps the deer away from the house, so I can grow what I like without a problem.

Ahh, another red-bed aficionado. I posted on the cottage gardens several photos of my red bed. I live in deer country, although they are not too bad in the summer, but are terrible in the winter.

They have always left my red barberry alone, even in the midst of winter.

Red bee balm - too minty for them and such nice reds.

Red leaved euphorbia - deer leave this one alone all winter.

Red-leaved amaranthus
red cannas - not sure if they would eat them, they've never eaten mine.

Here is a link that might be useful: my red bed

How about Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red?
It has bronze red deer resistant foliage and was a PPA Plant of the Year.
I was dissapointed the few years I grew it in a semi-shady spot in clay soil . . . the leaves really never got very red. Then I moved it to a sunny, well-drained soil this spring and it was STUNNING and is still beautiful now in November. It even had a few blossoms on it at Halloween.

Patti

I don't know about deer resistance, but Ninebark "Diablo" or "summerwine" (Physocarpus?) are beautiful burgundy shrubs.

Here's a link to a business that deals in deer resistant plants and deer repellants. My parents have dealt with them and been pleased.

Sam

Here is a link that might be useful: Deer Resistant Plants

Thank you all for your suggestions. There are a lot of really good ideas here. Gottagarden, which amaranthus are you growing?

The deer in my garden eat penstemons like they're candy. This garden bed is in full hot (100 degree) sun, so I'm looking for plants that can take the heat -- preferably without needing a ton of water. It gets too hot (and too full of bugs) in the summer for me to water much. So far i've added joe pye weed, buckeye, and a red angel's fishing rod (which I love). I've also found a wonderful red and white striped gallardia!

Keep the suggesions coming please. I'm enjoying them all immensely.

I get occassional deer, and they've never eaten gaillardia or barberry. They have eaten some prickly things, including holly, roses, and fir tree needles. But they've never eaten my roses to the ground, so I'm pretty lucky!

By the way, there is a maroon gaillardia, and it's a wonderful flower, but they didn't survive more than two years in my garden. I read they like to be dry during winter dormancy, and I think I had too much snow cover and moisture for them.

I've also noticed the deer stay away from spiraea shrubs (at least my 'Antony Waterer' variety). I'm sure some varieties have red flowers (mine are more pink) and maybe there's a red foliage type too.

I think it's amaranthus cruentas Hopi Red.

See link

Here is a link that might be useful: amaranthus

Thanx Gottagarden. Do you still have seeds to share? If so, please e-mail me.

jxa44

I have lots left. I sent you an email. Let me know if you don't get it, since GW seems unreliable when sending email.

Don't know what zone you are in, but a great purple-leafed plant for groundcover is Setcreasea pallida, which is hardy probably to zone 6. The deer never bother mine.

Knautia 'Mars Midget' was mentioned, but in fact any form of K. macedonica, the parent species, will be very long blooming and most forms are taller so they would fit in a mid-border location. And they have never been touched by those varmint deer in my garden. One of the best longest blooming source of floral red.

I have come to love the crocosmias more and more, and 'Lucifer' is a spectacular fire engine red (if you go for that color - I do) and has never been bothered by deer for me.

And yeah, it is surprising isn't it that deer LOVE roses. That fresh new tender growth, full of nitrogen (not to mention all the potential flower buds) are among the most deer-beloved greenery in my garden. Even the rugosas get nailed, though maybe a bit less. Seems like deer will take a few thorns on the palette in order to get the benefits of roses.

spazzycat,

yum, yum! that wandering jew is gorgeous! I'll try to see if I can add it next year. Great choice. thenk you.

david 5311,

Knautia 'Mars Midget' sounds like a wonderful choice. I've never grown it. so it will be a fun new plant to add to my garden bed next year.

As for crocosmia. I tried lucifer last year. the deer ate *all* of the blooms and the voles ate all of the bulbs. I don't have one plant left :-(

My deer seem to delight in taking all of the fun out of gardening for me. they generally will just eat all of the flowers. so I have lots of plants but seldom a bloom. there are only a few plants that they won't touch -- euphorbia and datura come to mind (poisonus plants). but in the poisonus category (or at least my understanding that they are) are irises, and the deer eat them up like candy every year. Go figure.

After having said that, you all have given me some wonderful suggestions for plants that I haven't tried yet. and it's always fun to put out a new plant in the garden to see if the deer will eat them.

Thank you ever so much for your input.