Perovskia is a woody perennial with glowing lavender flowers and shimmering silver foliage that deer shy away from.

Very rarely, if ever, can it be said that something deeply attractive, beautiful even, can also be reliably tough at the same time. Except, perhaps, in gardening.

After about 30 some years of gently but persistently, banging on the drum of a garden style adapted from the sweeping natural expanse of the American open prairie and meadow, growers like Roy Diblik of Northwind Farm and Neil Diboll of Prairie Nursery, as well as garden designers like the team of Oehme Van Sweden, have really begun to win the hearts and minds of the more tradition-bound American gardener.

And why not? Once these plants and design ideas were decoded, it was easy to embrace plants that ask so little in terms of care and hovering attention while giving back weeks and weeks of brilliant colors, ethereal textures, and little to no problems with insects. And let's not forget one of the  most important features to many people: resistance to deer.

Perennial Salvias are another rugged beauty that, when dead headed, can rebloom and flower from mid to late June into fall

As gardeners move farther out from towns and cities and further into woodland and rural areas, they face new challenges such as expansive populations of hungry deer that seem to be eating everything in site.

Fighting back with fencing and sprays can be effective, but in any garden, it all starts with good plant choices.  And there's a surprisingly large and fairly effective roster of plant choices that fit the aesthetic model of the"new American garden," flowers, grasses and shrubs, that can tough out the extremes of weather and neglect (let's face it, we've all dropped the garden-care ball at one time or another)—and even the deer. The crucial term is "resistance," not "deer proof." There's nothing ironclad, but there are many classic garden plants that deer will turn away from or chew on last. These are the plants you ought to have in your garden, regardless of its geographic location.

So, what are you waiting for? Armed with great plants that you can readily find at local nurseries, box store garden centers, and online, along with books like Neil Sonderstrom's Deer Resistant Landscaping, you're well on your way to a better garden experience. And maybe making some sort of peace with your rural garden "neighbors," even...

What do you say?