Rabbit-Proof Flowers and Plants

While they may be cuter than other garden pests, damage from rabbits creates a real problem when it comes to outdoor plants. Keeping rabbits from eating your plants can be a time-consuming process, from driving them away with repellents to installing chicken-wire fences, or even relocating them after successful captures using a Havahart live trap. If it's true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it's helpful to consider overhauling your backyard landscape with shrubs, native plants, ground covers, perennials, and annuals that rabbits avoid naturally.

There are a variety of plants and flowers that rabbits won't eat. The bonus is that most of these species are also deer-resistant, offering double protection from common pests. There is a drawback, however, as some of these flowers are toxic plants—so it's important to exercise caution in growing them around children or pets.

In general, these are the qualities in flowers and foliage that deter rabbits:

• Leaves that are jagged, prickly, or spiky, like yucca
• Flowers that are toxic, like Lenten rose or foxglove
• Leaves and flowers with strong smells, particularly mint, lavender, and yarrow
• Leaves that are fuzzy or leathery
• Plants with stems that are sappy

Rabbits, like humans, have different tastes in food. The plants listed below are avoided by most rabbits, but results can vary based on the specific animals in your garden.

Shrubs and Sub-Shrubs 

• Viburnum
• Butterfly bush (the sub-shrub, Buddleia; an invasive plant in some regions)
• Lantana (an invasive plant in warm, humid climates)
• Adam's needle (a type of Yucca)
• Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia, sub-shrub)
• Cotoneaster
• Flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)
• Boxwood (Buxus)
• Blue Star juniper (Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star')
• Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis)
• Holly (Ilex)
• Japanese rose (Kerria japonica)
• Lavender plant (Lavandula, sub-shrub)

Perennials

• Salvia
• Montauk daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum)
• Avens (Geum)
• Rodgers flower (Rodgersia)
• Columbine (Aquilegia)
• Delphinium
• Yarrow (Achillea)
• New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
• Coreopsis
• Daylily (Hemerocallis)
• Poppy (Papaver)
• Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
• Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
• Perennial bachelor's button (Centaurea montana)
• Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis; newer genus name, Lamprocapnos)
• Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
• Monkshood (Aconitum)
• Bee balm (Monarda didyma)
• Torch lily (Kniphofia uvaria)
• 'Silver Mound' artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana)

Bulb Plants

• Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)
• Alliums (including A. atropurpureum)
• Reticulated iris (Iris reticulata)
• Daffodil (Narcissus)
• Siberian squill (Scilla siberica)

Annuals

• Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
• Flossflower (Ageratum)
• Wax begonias (Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum)
• Geranium (Pelargonium)
• Pot marigold (Calendula)

Trees

• Japanese maples (Acer palmatum, etc.)
• Hawthorn (Crataegus)
• Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
• Maidenhair (Ginkgo biloba)
• Ash (Fraxinus)
• Magnolia (Magnoliaceae)

Vines and/or Ground Covers

• Ajuga (Ajuga reptans)
• Wisteria (Wisteria)
• Creeping myrtle (Vinca minor)
• Yellow alyssum (Aurinia saxatilis)
• Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis; invasive in some regions)
• Creeping junipers (Juniperus horizontalis; Blue Rug juniper, etc.)
• Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
• Catmint (Nepeta)
• Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)
• Spotted dead nettle (Lamium maculatum)

Foliage Plants

While the above-mentioned Vinca minor does put out a blue flower in spring, many gardeners grow it more for its shiny green leaves. For those who do not mind growing a plant that puts on more impressive foliage than flowering display, the following plants may be of interest:

• 'Silver Mound' artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana)
• Blue fescue ornamental grass (Festuca glauca)
• Lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina)