Depending on your perspective, deer are either a beautiful element of the TriState’s fauna or our largest pest. Either way, gardeners find these voracious eaters to be a big challenge.

The Cincinnati Zoo compiled a curated list of deer-resistant landscape plants to keep your garden intact and thriving. Here are a few groundcover suggestions that experts recommend.

Ajuga

Try These 4 Deer-Resistant Groundcovers in Your Landscape

A lovely option for substituting turf grass under trees, Ajugas comes in many different shades of foilage with purple flower spikes in the spring.

Convallaria (Lily of the Valley)

Try These 4 Deer-Resistant Groundcovers in Your Landscape

Blooming beautiful, bell-shaped blossoms in spring, Convallaria is fragrant and loves shade.

Galium (Sweet Woodruff)

Try These 4 Deer-Resistant Groundcovers in Your Landscape

This mat-forming perennial thrives in moist, shady environments. Small, fragrant flowers bloom in the spring.

Lamiastrum

Try These 4 Deer-Resistant Groundcovers in Your Landscape

In the mint family, Lamiastrum spreads quickly with creeping stems. It prefers partial or full shade.