Protecting a Native Oak with a Decomposed Granite Patio

A Water-Wise, Deer-Resistant Garden Under a Coast Live Oak

Cara and Tim Hoxie of Orinda, California, discovered their coast live oak was suffering from summer watering of the lawn beneath it. The solution: replace the thirsty turf with a large decomposed granite patio under the canopy, then surround it with unthirsty, deer-resistant plants.

Plant Palette for Dry Shade and Deer Pressure

The garden stays mostly green, with seasonal color from perennials and annuals, and texture from backlit sedge. Two years later, the oak is recovering and deer coexist peacefully.

Deer-Resistant Selections

Trees, shrubs, grasses: African boxwood, Aster x frikartii, Berkeley sedge, breath of heaven, evergreen dogwood, rosemary.
Annuals and perennials: Bacopa, catmint, Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve', true geraniums, hellebores, Iceland poppy, lobelia, narcissus, Shasta daisy, sweet William.