Reilly's Summer Seat Farm & Garden Center
1120 Roosevelt Road    Pittsburgh, PA 15237
412-364-8270     info@reillyssummerseatfarm.com

Reilly's Garden Center at Summer Seat Farm

Garden Topics:
Deer Resistant - Spring Flowering Bulbs

It's heartbreaking enough to put a plant in the garden, only to find it eaten to the ground the next day.

But waiting all winter for your spring bulbs to bloom and then losing them to deer just before bloom is utterly frustrating.  Tulips are wonderful, but they are also deer candy. 

Deer GrazingIf you are plagued by deer browsing, consider spring bulbs that are less tempting to deer. We all know that deer don't like daffodils, but that doesn't mean your spring bulb garden has to be a swath of yellow.

 There are several other bulbs that deer tend to avoid, and those are the ones we have available at the Garden Center. The following is a list, but providing names without pictures and colors may not be satisfyingly helpful as desired.

 Here are our recommendations, along with pictures:  Allium, Camassia, Daffodils, Dutch Iris, Hyacinths, and Narcissus. A bit more information on the bulbs follows:

Narcissus   Camassia

Note the bright orange color of this unusual Large-Cup Butterfly Narcissus.

It has a mid season bloom and grows to 12

 

This native bulb will naturalize into a sea of blue. Come see ours next spring.

Blooms arrive in late spring to early summer on stems 36high.

     
Narcissus Holland Sensation   Allium Giganteum

When you name a daffodil  "Holland Sensation," it had better deliver! And of course, this beautiful daffodil was a "Holland sensation" the year it was introduced.

For displays of sparkling white with gold--instead of the look of solid yellow or for a mixture with the solid yellows, this is the daffodil. Blooms Mid Spring, height 14-16"

 

An ornamental onion, Allium Giganteum produces a bright purple flower on a very long stem.

The foliage or leaves sit on the ground far away from the flower. But perhaps the most distinctive part of this plant is its flowers. There are many tiny purple flowers that make up a complete flower head. These tiny flowers are assembled in a circular pattern to form one round flower.

     
Allium Christophii   Narcissus Pink Parasol

This bulbous perennial produces ribbed stems and star-shaped, gray-green basal leaves that decline as its flowers form.

In early summer, it bears umbels that are 10 to 12 inches in diameter, and contain up to 100 star-shaped fuchsia flowers with a metallic sheen. Noteworthy is the fact that the flowers dry nicely.

 

Perhaps the best-known group of narcissus, many of these Large Trumpet Daffodils such as Pink Parasol have been favorites since Victorian times.

The pink/coral cup is characteristic that makes this variety stand out.

It grows to 18"

 

     
Narcissus Mount Hood   Hyacinth

The world’s finest, all white, giant trumpet daffodil. Large blooms
open a pale primrose yellow, and
then quickly become all white.

Perfect in every detail—from strong stems to flaring trumpets to pristine perianths 5" across.  Height: 16-18" Blooms: Mid-Spring.

 

 

The beauty of hyacinth’s-dewy spring color, and head turning fragrance are the most dominant qualities of hyacinths.

Colors cover the spectrum from rich blues to vibrant magentas and pinks to cool yellow and whites. Plant them in formal beds, among perennials, scattered in clumps in the border or along walkways. Save a few to force indoors for an early burst of spring


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