Daffodils eventually form large clumps that are rarely bothered by deer. Yellow Jonquils are especially nice when planted in large, informal drifts.

Not so many years ago, it was a real thrill to look out into your backyard and spot a deer. How quickly times have changed! Today, in many parts of the United States, people can look out their window almost any time of day and spot deer—munching on their shrubs stripping their trees, gorging on hostas and trampling the vegetable garden.

There's little chance that deer populations will drop any time soon. Between development pressure for habitat and the lack of significant natural predators, deer are probably here to stay. Gardeners have little choice but to adapt to this situation. While there is no solution that will prevent all deer damage, selecting plants that are distasteful to deer is one easy way to minimize damage.

Fortunately for gardeners, Daffodils are near the very bottom of the list of deer food preferences. Their leaves actually contain a toxin that deer, rodents and most other creatures avoid. Today, daffodils come in a wide range of flower forms and colors, with bloom times that span a month or more. You can plant plenty of these early spring beauties and be relatively confident that they won't be eaten by deer.

Alliums, such as Mount Everest, are members of the onion family, and deer find them distasteful.

Though hungry deer will eat most anything they come upon, there are many other spring-blooming bulbs that are typically shunned by deer. These include:

• Alliums
• Star of Holland (Scilla siberica)
• Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa forbesii)
• Crocus
• Winter Aconite (Eranthis cilicica)
• Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)
• Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)
• Early Stardrift (Puschkinia libanotica)
• Crown Imperials (Fritillaria imperialis)

For a colorful assortment of deer-resistant bulbs at a good price, try the Deer-Resistant Collection. It contains 170 top-size bulbs of eight different deer-resistant types.

Daylilies are ideal companions for daffodils because their foliage covers up maturing daffodil foliage, their dense root systems choke out weeds, and they provide a colorful display of flowers in mid-summer. Unfortunately, deer relish daylily foliage. So think about pairing your deer-resistant bulbs with other types of perennials that less attractive to deer. Some gooddeer-resistant perennials include:

• Ornamental grasses
• Bee Balm (Monarda)
• Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
• Lenten Rose (Helleborus)
• Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum)
• Columbine (Aquilegia)
• Japanese Anemone (Anemone japonica)
• Deadnettle (Lamium)
• Bleeding Heart (Dicentra)
• Foxglove (Digitalis)
• Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam')
• Most ferns
• Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)

Deer love tulips and hybrid lilies just as much as gardeners do. To discourage deer from dining on these cherished flowers, plant them as close to the house as possible, where deer will be reluctant to venture. Or try growing them in a protected area, such as a fenced-in vegetable garden. You can also erect a temporary fence during the time that your tulips or lilies are coming into bloom.