I need ideas! Outdoor dressage arena needs to be prettied up. It sits in a field where horses are turned out in the late spring to mid fall to graze overnight. We have deer (lots of deer). So, I need deer resistant and not toxic to horses. It is competition sized. Oh, and placing letters around the arena just invites horses and deer to chew/rub and lawnmower sideswipes. My thoughts are to place bushes that grow about 2-3 feet high at C, F, K, B, E, H, and M and set them back about a foot so I can place the letters in front of them - with the bushes short of hiding them and framing them in the arena. Then, I was going to put some flowers at P, V, R, and S to give some more color and frame them. Zone 5 and temps can get to -23 in the winter. No water nearby, so it will be an act of love to keep them watered until established. Drought tolerant is a plus (actually a necessity). Not my property, but owner is all for it. I want it to look nice. Anyone have suggestions they wish to share? Thanks! COVID quarantine has brought out the gardener in me, but I’m a newbie at it.
Boxwoods for bushes, Cat mint seems pretty deer resistant, and daffodil bulbs planted for in the spring of course. That’s about all I know of that is deer resistant. Of course in such a small area, you could readily spray something like PLANT SKIDD or some other stinky spray to then grow anything you like.
Blueberry bushes, I don’t think they are toxic and the deer don’t bug them too much? Honestly, I don’t see this working terribly well if the bushes and flowers are in the field with the horses; they will be used as scratching posts even more enthusiastically than the letters already are. And eaten, whether toxic or not (I think everything is toxic to horses, not really but it seems that way) or stepped on…
Boxwood is mildly toxic for horses.
Honestly I can’t think of anything that is nontoxic and deer resistant. If horses are very well fed on lush summer pasture they won’t pay much attention to trees, bushes, blackberry vines that they would definitely browse on if there was no grass. But deer are going to come cruising through all year around and they are really browsers and will eat up anything in a cold winter.
Daffodils are indeed toxic to horses.
Rosemary can be trained as a bush, and is very drought resistant (Zone 7-8) deer won’t touch it, and bonus that is helps some with repelling insects. Holly is another that might do well. I have Iris/day lilies in my front garden that also doubles as daytime pasture and the horses leave them alone, Iris makes a nice upright, and overwinters very well, especially the siberian iris’s
You might investigate barberry. There are hundreds of kinds (a few are invasive) and types (shrub, dwarf, tree, sprawling). Most have gorgeous color (yellow to deep purple) and attract birds and butterflies.
Daylilies are an invitation for all the deer to come have a snack.
Things that aren’t toxic to horses, are also likely to be snacked on by horses.
But if you really want a good list to look through, scroll down to the non-toxic heading
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/horse-plant-list
Viburnum might be a great choice. Safe (but maybe tasty), bird-friendly, deer-resistant, and there are lots of varieties.
Depending where in the Midwest some of the smaller Abelias are gorgeous. I have a ton of deer that leave them. Several newer varieties are reliable in Zone 6, not sure I’d push it to 5.
Can’t say I’ve tried planting in a pasture but I’m all for drought resistance, deer proof. Around here deer don’t touch hemerocallis (day lilies) because there’s much more tasty stuff to eat when daylily foliage is out. And the horses don’t touch the volunteers in their fields for the same reason.
Rosa Rugosa might work. Heavenly scent to the flowers and a tough plant that will even grow abutting the beach. Thorns might be enough to keep horses and deer at bay. Deer don’t eat them in our gardens.
Montauk daisies are deer resistant and die back in the winter. Once established, they have a pleasing foliage and form with light pruning, are drought resistant and have lovely white daisy like flowers in early fall till frost. Nice mixed with catmint.
I don’t know if there are cultivated chicories, but the horses and deer won’t touch them in my paddocks. The property owner might want to shoot you however, as they will spread.
I presume you want to avoid fencing the arena? You might build flower boxes, plant with silk flowers and then paint the letters on the boxes. Though knowing my luck, the horses would eat the silk flowers and make themselves terribly ill.
Not Boxwood: All parts of boxwood is poisonous, but especially the bark and leaves. The plant contains triterpenoidal alkaloids. As little as 1.5 lb of green leaves can be lethal to an average size adult horse.
Can’t beat nature so go for a really easy option: paint the letters on rocks. No one will eat them, no watering required, non toxic.
You’d have to check these out for horses; https://www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/flowers-plants/plant-guide/11-deer-and-rabbit-resistant-plants/
I have similar issues, looking for things that deer and horses won’t eat. Because deer especially eat all sorts of things that they shouldn’t, and that you wouldn’t think that they would eat. Deer eat potato greens, and tomato greens, both of which are supposed to be poisonous, but we get no dead or sick deer. We have alfalfa growing all over the place, and many other options available, but my potatoes and tomatoes take a lot of damage each year. Also they eat squash plants, spines and all, but especially any flowers, including any roses, wild or domesticated- rose hips are a delicacy for many animals. They also try to eat my fake flowers that are on my jumps in the riding arena. Had to deer fence the tomatoes this year to get any success at all.
About the ONLY thing I’ve seen locally that deer and horses don’t eat, EVER, is juniper. We have both tall tree juniper, and the low bush type, which grow wild in our pastures. Is it poisonous??? Probably. That’s why both horses and deer don’t eat it. The bush type may be suitable for you, if it is something that will grow in your area.
I think this is a great idea. Could paint flower type decorations too!
A slight ‘nit’ on my part… cactus are the only family of plants with ‘spines’. Spines are modified leaves or parts of leaves. Thorns are modified plant stems while prickles come from a plant’s epidermis. Roses actually have prickles, not thorns. Citrus trees have thorns. Those sharp ‘things’ on the edges of leaves on plants like many of the agaves are ‘teeth’.
Thus ending the botany lesson for the day :lol:
Have you considered native plants? I’ve seen some really pretty landscapes done with natives.
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Native_Plant_Materials/Native_Gardening/index.shtml
Hi All! Some great suggestions. Thank you. This field doubles (triples?) as the schooling area for XC jumps and believe it or not there is a boxwood hedge/log combination that they have never bothered. The stones idea is fabulous! I had already found the ASPCA site which is great because it not only lists toxic plants, but those that are NOT toxic. I am quite intrigued by the abelias and wlll look further because some are listed good to zone 4… I adore iris, especially Siberian and reblooming. Stone surrounded by a bush/flowers and a letter painted on it would look really nice. Boxes painted with the letters would look nice as well, but I would not risk the silk flowers surviving…
Something to think about over the winter. And, now, work calls…
