KUSA — Deer and rodents are persistent garden pests. It's discouraging to lose our tulips to them.
Some spring bulbs are less likely to be ruined by critters, either because they're poisonous or unpalatable.
If your spring garden is basically a salad bar, plant daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa), ornamental onions (Allium) and crown imperial (Frillitaria imperialis).
Deer may sometimes sample these flowers but quickly learn that they're not to their liking. Daffodils, glory-of-the snow and hyacinths are poisonous. Ornamental onions--of which there are many species--are simply not tasty to them.
Crown imperials are native to mountainous regions of Iran and Iraq. The plants grow several feet tall and the stems are "crowned" with a cluster of pretty orange or yellow flowers and a tuft of foliage. The bulbs, stems, leaves and flowers have a peculiar odor said to smell of foxes. It dissuades rodents. The plants are spectacular but the odor carries so don't plant them near your patio.
All of these are very long-lived bulbs. They'll do best in sun or part shade. They can be planted beneath deciduous trees to bloom before the trees have fully leafed out. Leave the foliage to ripen and fade away; never cut off the leaves before they've withered. Otherwise you deprive the bulbs from storing energy for the next year.
