Gardening is a rewarding activity, but it can be challenging when dealing with hungry rabbits that find your garden plants irresistible. To keep your garden thriving without constant pest issues, consider incorporating rabbit-resistant plants.
Here are 20 plants that are less appealing to rabbits, ensuring your garden stays vibrant and healthy.
1. Periwinkle
Periwinkle, also known as Vinca, is a hardy ground cover with glossy leaves and charming blue or purple flowers. This plant thrives in various soil types and light conditions, from full sun to partial shade.
Its dense foliage forms a lush carpet, making it an excellent choice for suppressing weeds. Periwinkle is known for its resilience against rabbit browsing, making it a reliable and low-maintenance option for your garden.
2. Coreopsis
Coreopsis, often called tickseed, is a cheerful perennial known for its bright yellow, daisy-like flowers. Blooming profusely from early summer to fall, Coreopsis adds a splash of color to any garden.
It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, requiring minimal care once established. Rabbits tend to avoid Coreopsis due to its slightly bitter taste, making it a fantastic choice for adding long-lasting beauty without the worry of damage.
3. Geraniums
Geraniums are beloved for their vibrant, clustered blooms and aromatic foliage. Available in a variety of colors, these hardy plants can brighten garden beds and containers alike.
Geraniums prefer sunny locations and well-drained soil, making them versatile additions to any garden setting. Their strong scent and somewhat leathery leaves deter rabbits, ensuring that your garden remains colorful and intact throughout the growing season.
4. Lavender
Lavender is a fragrant herb known for its soothing scent and beautiful purple spikes. This Mediterranean native thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it a perfect choice for dry, sunny spots.
Besides its aromatic appeal to humans, lavender’s strong scent and tough, woody stems make it unappealing to rabbits. Planting lavender not only enhances your garden's aesthetic but also provides a natural deterrent to rabbit browsing.
5. Yarrow
Yarrow is a hardy perennial that produces clusters of tiny flowers in shades of white, yellow, pink, or red. This plant is drought-tolerant and thrives in full sun, making it ideal for low-maintenance gardens.
Yarrow’s fern-like, aromatic foliage is unappealing to rabbits, ensuring it remains undisturbed. Additionally, its long blooming season and attractiveness to pollinators make yarrow a valuable addition to any garden landscape.
6. Snapdragons
Snapdragons are popular annuals known for their tall spikes of tubular flowers in various colors. These charming plants prefer sunny locations and well-drained soil, and they bloom from spring to fall.
Snapdragons’ unique flower shape and slightly bitter taste make them less appealing to rabbits. Incorporating snapdragons into your garden can provide continuous, colorful blooms while reducing the risk of rabbit damage.
7. Hawthorn
Hawthorn is a small tree or shrub known for its thorny branches and clusters of white or pink flowers. This hardy plant can thrive in a range of soil types and light conditions.
The thorns deter rabbits from nibbling on its branches, while its dense foliage provides shelter for birds and other wildlife. Hawthorn’s attractive flowers and red berries add seasonal interest to your garden, making it a practical and decorative choice.
8. Juniper
Juniper is an evergreen shrub or small tree with needle-like foliage and small, berry-like cones. This plant is highly adaptable, thriving in various soil types and light conditions, from full sun to partial shade.
Juniper’s sharp needles and strong scent are natural deterrents to rabbits. Planting juniper in your garden not only provides year-round greenery but also reduces the risk of rabbit damage, ensuring your landscape remains pristine.
9. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet Alyssum is a low-growing annual known for its delicate, honey-scented flowers. Blooming in shades of white, pink, and purple, this plant creates a lovely ground cover or border. Sweet Alyssum thrives in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
Its strong fragrance and slightly hairy leaves deter rabbits, making it a charming and practical addition to rabbit-prone gardens. Additionally, its ability to attract pollinators enhances your garden’s biodiversity.
10. Holly
Holly is an evergreen shrub or small tree characterized by its glossy, spiny leaves and bright red berries. This plant thrives in various soil types and light conditions, from full sun to partial shade. Holly’s tough, prickly leaves make it unappealing to rabbits and other herbivores.
Incorporating holly into your garden provides year-round greenery and seasonal interest with its vibrant berries, ensuring a visually appealing and rabbit-resistant landscape.
11. Daffodils
Daffodils are beloved spring bulbs known for their cheerful yellow, white, or orange flowers. These hardy perennials thrive in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
Daffodils contain toxic compounds that deter rabbits and other pests, making them a reliable choice for early spring color. Planting daffodils in clusters or along borders not only brightens your garden but also helps protect other plants from rabbit browsing.
12. Wax Begonias
Wax Begonias are versatile annuals known for their waxy leaves and continuous blooms in shades of red, pink, and white. These plants thrive in partial shade to full sun and well-drained soil.
Wax Begonias’ thick leaves and slightly bitter taste make them less appealing to rabbits. Incorporating Wax Begonias into your garden ensures a constant display of color and reduces the likelihood of rabbit damage, making them a practical and decorative choice.
13. Irises
Irises are elegant perennials known for their sword-like foliage and striking flowers in various colors. These plants thrive in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil. Irises contain toxic compounds that make them unappealing to rabbits and other herbivores.
Planting irises in your garden adds a touch of sophistication and ensures vibrant, long-lasting blooms without the worry of rabbit damage, enhancing your garden’s overall appeal.
14. Columbine
Columbine is a charming perennial known for its unique, spurred flowers in a variety of colors. This plant prefers partial shade and well-drained soil, making it ideal for woodland gardens and shaded borders.
Columbine’s delicate foliage and unusual flower shape deter rabbits, reducing the risk of browsing. Incorporating Columbine into your garden provides continuous blooms from spring to early summer, attracting pollinators and adding whimsy to your landscape.
15. Lantana
Lantana is a robust, heat-tolerant shrub known for its clusters of small, brightly colored flowers. This plant thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it perfect for hot, dry climates.
Lantana’s aromatic foliage and slightly toxic properties make it unappealing to rabbits and other pests. Planting Lantana in your garden ensures vibrant color throughout the growing season and provides a natural deterrent to rabbit browsing.
16. Salvia/Sage
Salvia, also known as Sage, is a diverse genus of plants known for their aromatic foliage and tubular flowers in shades of blue, purple, red, and white. These plants thrive in full sun and well-drained soil, making them ideal for a variety of garden settings.
Salvia’s strong scent and slightly bitter taste deter rabbits, ensuring your garden remains colorful and intact. Additionally, Salvia attracts pollinators, enhancing your garden’s biodiversity.
17. Catmint
Catmint is a hardy perennial known for its aromatic, gray-green foliage and spikes of lavender-blue flowers. This plant thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it a low-maintenance choice for any garden.
Catmint’s strong scent and slightly fuzzy leaves make it unappealing to rabbits. Incorporating Catmint into your garden ensures a continuous display of color from spring to fall and provides a natural deterrent to rabbit browsing.
18. Russian Sage
Russian Sage is a robust perennial known for its airy spikes of blue-purple flowers and aromatic, silvery foliage. This plant thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it perfect for hot, dry climates.
Russian Sage’s strong scent and slightly bitter taste make it unappealing to rabbits and other pests. Planting Russian Sage in your garden ensures a long-lasting display of color and provides a natural deterrent to rabbit browsing.
19. Coneflower
Coneflower is a hardy perennial known for its large, daisy-like flowers with prominent central cones. This plant thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it a low-maintenance choice for any garden.
Coneflower’s tough stems and slightly bitter taste make it unappealing to rabbits. Incorporating Coneflower into your garden ensures a continuous display of vibrant blooms from summer to fall and provides a natural deterrent to rabbit browsing.
20. Butterfly Bush
Butterfly Bush is a fast-growing shrub known for its long, arching spikes of fragrant flowers in shades of purple, pink, white, and yellow. This plant thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it ideal for attracting pollinators.
Butterfly Bush’s slightly bitter taste and tough stems make it unappealing to rabbits. Planting Butterfly Bush in your garden ensures a continuous display of color and provides a natural deterrent to rabbit browsing, enhancing your garden’s overall appeal.
