Don’t let hungry critters ruin your spring show. They don’t find these rabbit- and deer-resistant bulbs particularly appetizing (but no plant is completely safe), so the spring flowers these bulbs produce will provide you with a beautiful display of color without the risk of seeing your garden eaten up by furry visitors.
Daffodil
One of the most recognizable deer-resistant bulbs, the daffodil is also among the easiest to grow. Most gardeners know the cheery golden-flowering types but watch for extra-special varieties that offer blooms in shades of orange, pink, red, and white, like these ‘Romance’ daffodils. Almost all pests will leave this bulb alone due to its pungent smell.
Name: Narcissus selections
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 30 inches tall
Zones: 4-8
Warning
Daffodils are toxic if ingested.
Crown Imperial
One of spring’s most dramatic blooming bulbs, crown imperial looks a bit like a pineapple wearing a Hawaiian shirt: The colorful yellow, orange, or red flowers are topped by a crown of narrow, pointed leaves. Crown imperial are deer-resistant bulbs (the entire flower repels wildlife) and are avoided by other animals because they smell like skunks, so you may want to position this bulb at the back of the border.
Name: Fritillaria imperialis
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall
Zones: 5-8
Siberian Squill
Offering some of the best colors of the spring, the true-blue flowers of Siberian squill are first-rate. This adaptable, deer-resistant bulb spreads quickly and is great for planting in your lawn for a carpet of no-maintenance blue color in early spring. Siberian squill contains an alkaloid that animals avoid.
Name: Scilla siberica
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 6 inches tall
Zones: 2-8
Allium
Having a favorite allium is tough because there are so many beautiful choices. Most offer globe-shaped blooms in white, pink, yellow, and purple shades. Because alliums are related to onions, their leaves have a similar smell that acts as an animal deterrent. Try planting some at the front of garden borders or surrounding tender lily bulbs to discourage troublesome critters.
Name: Allium selections
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 5 feet tall
Zones: 5-8
Hyacinth
With its large flower spikes and sweet fragrance, a hyacinth is one of the most eye-catching spring deer-resistant bulbs you can plant. Its strong scent seems to be what makes it unappealing to wildlife. In addition, the bulbs are toxic to squirrels and other bulb diners, so they’ll avoid digging them up. The flowers come in various colors, from blue, pink, and purple to yellow, cream, and white.
Name: Hyacinthus orientalis
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 4-8
Grape Hyacinth
A favorite spring bulb for many gardeners, grape hyacinth flowers resemble an upside-down bunch of grapes. The tiny blue, purple, white, or yellow bell-shaped blooms appear in tight clusters in early spring. Offering a sweet scent of grape bubblegum and a punch of color, these shorter bulbs are most striking when planted in large clusters near the front of a border.
Name: Muscari armeniacum
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 8 inches tall
Zones: 4-8
Bluebells
Perfect for providing color and contrast to the woodland garden, bluebells produce hanging clusters of blue blooms. If you’re looking for more color contrast, you can even find pink- or white-flowering varieties of this bulb. Bluebells thrive under trees or shrubs or in shady plantings alongside other spring-blooming bulbs. Not all deer are averse to bluebells, and many will eat the leaves if not the flowers.
Name: Hyacinthoides hispanica
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 18 inches tall
Zones: 3-8
Dog's Tooth Violet
A charming woodland plant, dog's tooth violet bears lily-shaped flowers in white, cream, yellow, and pink shades. Many selections also offer speckled foliage. Native to North America, this tiny deer-resistant bulb blooms in spring and tucks well into shade gardens, woodland plantings, and rock gardens without sun, where it will gracefully greet spring.
Name: Erythronium grandiflorum
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 6 inches tall
Zones: 3-8
Checkered Lily
The charming, intricate flowers of checkered lily never fail to impress. As the name suggests, the purple flowers bear a distinct checkerboard patterned overlay. The pure-white selections are just as beautiful. The bulbs’ faint skunk-like odor is pungent enough to repel most pests.
Name: Fritillaria meleagris
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 1 foot tall
Zones: 3-8
Glory-of-the-Snow
A charming little bulb that deserves to be a lot better known, glory-of-the-snow is one of the first to bloom in the spring and bears cheery pink, blue, or white star-shaped flowers. Plant them with other early spring-flowering bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils, for a pretty splash of color in your garden.
Name: Chionodoxa luciliae
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 12 inches tall
Zones: 3-8
Warning
Glory-of-the-snow is toxic if ingested.
Winter Aconite
One of the first blooms you’ll see before spring arrives is winter aconite, which bears cup-shaped sunny yellow flowers. These rugged plants often send their shoots up through snow. Plant these deer-resistant bulbs near your kitchen window or garage where the blooms can be appreciated in late winter.
Name: Eranthis hyemalis
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 6 inches tall
Zones: 3-7
Warning
Winter aconite is toxic if ingested.
Snowdrop
Often greeting spring before the snow has gone, snowdrops offer small, dangling, butterfly-shaped white flowers. Its common name refers to the supposed resemblance of the flowers to drops of snow. It grows particularly well under large deciduous trees and in groupings in border fronts.
Name: Galanthus nivalis
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 9 inches tall
Zones: 3-7
Warning
Snowdrop is toxic if ingested.