Editors' Picks: Top Rabbit-Resistant Plants

To start, it's important to know that there are few truly rabbit-resistant plants. Like people, different rabbits have different favorite foods. One family of rabbits in your area may mow down a certain plant in your yard but a different group will avoid the same plant in your neighbor's yard down the street.

Also, like people, when rabbits are hungry enough, they'll eat just about anything! With that in mind, here are plants we've noted rabbits tend to stay away from.

From the cute 6-inch-tall rock garden types to the 6-foot-tall giants, alliums are great garden plants. Perfect cut flowers and long-lived garden residents, it's an added bonus that deer, rabbits, and even squirrels tend to pass them by.
Name: Allium varieties
Growing conditions: Full to partial sun and well-drained soil
Height: 6 inches to 6 feet tall
Zones: 3-10, depending on variety

An incredibly rugged North American native plant, anise hyssop bears spikes of violet-blue flowers from midsummer to fall. The flowers and the foliage have a decidedly anise scent, hence its common name.
Name: Agastache varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 2-6 feet tall, depending on variety
Zones: 4-10, depending on variety

One of the most common plants in the shade garden, rabbit-resistant astilbe sends up feathery plumes of pink, white, and red in early summer. Its glossy divided foliage looks great, too -- especially the varieties with bronzy tones infused in the leaves.
Name: Astilbe varieties
Growing conditions: Shade or partial shade and moist soil
Height: 1-3 feet tall
Zones: 4-8

One of the toughest plants in the garden, baptisia bears spikes of violet, blue, yellow, or white flowers in early summer. The plants are very heat- and drought-resistant and their blue-green foliage continues to look great all the way to frost.
Name: Baptisia australis
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Height: 5 feet tall
Zones: 3-9

Rabbits may not like bee balm, but hummingbirds sure do! This easy-growing plant produces lots of pink, red, violet, or white flowers from summer to early fall. The flowers are long lasting and great for cutting.
Name: Monarda varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Height: 1-3 feet, depending on variety
Zones: 4-9

A perfect companion for hybrid roses, catmint offers gray-green foliage and clusters of blue, violet, pink, or white flowers through the summer. This winner takes heat and drought well.
Name: Nepeta varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 1-2 feet tall
Zones: 4-8, depending on variety

While many spring bulbs are rabbit magnets, the pesky critters avoid daffodils. These bulbs bloom in shades of red, orange, yellow, white, and pink and offer a variety of flower shapes. Daffodils are also long-lived garden plants.
Name: Narcissus varieties
Growing conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil
Height: To 1 foot tall
Zones: 3-9, depending on variety

One of the hardiest garden plants, daylilies bloom in a rainbow of shades and can take all but the toughest conditions. Grow them in full sun and enjoy their easy-growing beauty.
Name: Hemerocallis varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 2-6 feet tall, depending on variety
Zones: 3-10, depending on variety

A cottage-garden favorite, foxglove produces spirelike spikes of pink, rose, white, and yellow. Though many common varieties are biennial (meaning they typically live only about two years), they will self-seed if you don't deadhead them.
Name: Digitalis varieties
Growing conditions: Partial sun and moist, well-drained soil
Height: 2-6 feet tall, depending on variety
Zones: 3-8, depending on variety

Fritillarias are underused spring bulbs. These interesting bulbs offer a wide variety of flower colors, forms, and sizes. Among the best known are crown imperials (shown), which grow 3 feet tall and are one of the most flamboyant plants in the spring garden.
Name: Fritillaria varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun or partial shade and well-drained soil
Height: 6 inches to 4 feet tall
Zones: 3-9, depending on variety

A nearly indestructible shade-garden plant, hellebores bloom in late winter or early spring and produce black, red, pink, white, cream, or green flowers. In many climates, the plants are semi-evergreen.
Name: Helleborus varieties
Growing conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Height: 1-2 feet tall
Zones: 4-9, depending on variety

We love tall bearded iris not only for their rabbit resistance, but also for their gorgeous frilly flowers (that are great for cutting) and for their sweet scent. Plus, the flowers appear in almost every color of the rainbow. Reblooming iris offer the extra advantage of blooming again in fall.
Name: Iris varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 3 feet tall
Zones: 3-9

A wonderful ground cover for sunny spots, lamb's ears is adorned with softy fuzzy silvery leaves. This low-care plant is wonderfully drought resistant, too, so you can pretty much plant it and enjoy it. Though the leaves are its best feature, lamb's ears also produces spikes of pink flowers through the summer.
Name: Stachys byzantina
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 18 inches tall
Zones: 4-8

One of the more ornamental herbs, lavender produces wonderfully fragrant foliage and flowers. The blooms typically appear in shades of violet and white and are wonderful for drying and using in sachets and other craft projects.
Name: Lavandula varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 1-2 feet tall
Zones: 5-8, depending on variety

Peonies are as rabbit-resistant as they are beautiful. These long-lived perennials are tough, too -- as long as you stake up their heavy late springtime flowers to keep them from spilling on the ground after a heavy rain.
Name: Paeonia varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 2-7 feet tall, depending on variety
Zones: 3-8, depending on variety

There are a whole host of salvias great for the garden and almost all are nicely rabbit resistant. The blooms range from bright red to shades of purple and blue. Most make great cut flowers, too.
Name: Salvia varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Height: 1-5 feet tall, depending on variety
Zones: 3-9, depending on variety

Siberian iris is our favorite of the iris tribe. It blooms a little later than the tall bearded types and features wonderful grassy foliage with elegant blue, purple, rose, or white blooms. The flowers, like most iris, are great for cutting and the plant has especially nice form even when it's not in bloom.
Name: Iris sibirica
Growing conditions: Full sun or partial shade and well-drained soil
Height: 1-3 feet tall
Zones: 4-9

We love veronica because it blooms all summer long. The flower spikes appear in cheery shades of blue, pink, and white. It's easy to grow and adds great texture to many other front-of-the-border plants.
Name: Veronica spicata
Growing conditions: Full sun or partial shade and well-drained soil
Height: 1-2 feet tall
Zones: 3-8

Lovely yarrow is not just rabbit resistant, it's also a hardy, drought-resistant perennial. This rugged plant blooms through the summer in shades of yellow, pink, red, and white. The long-lasting blooms are beautiful in the vase and in the garden.
Name: Achillea varieties
Growing conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil.
Height: 2-3 feet tall
Zones: 3-9, depending on variety