Concerning the peppers they'll probably do okay against the south side of the house. It should be enough direct sun to keep them happy during the summer then later in the season they'll get more hours.

I was told daylilies are supposed to be critter proof, but my chickens will sure eat them down in a hurry. I know my rhubarb has not been bothered by anything, can't imagine why. My lilacs seem to never be bothered either, don't know if that's just because they are so close to the rhubarb. And my irises always seemed to be left alone, they are not near the rhubarb.

Wish I could help more, but most of my stuff is veggie.

Billie

Here's a couple of thoughts. If you are putting the peppers in the bed next to the house, you need to be sure what goes in the other bed isn't too tall, or the peppers won't get enough hours of sunlight. Not sure how tall the Potentilla gets.

If deer are an issue, the daylilies are probably not the best choice. They love to eat the flowers. They also love sedums, dianthus (rabbits love this one too), and tulips. They've even eaten my Hens and Chicks! I've had good luck with things like Gaillardia, Echinacea, Achillea, Pineleaf Penstemon, Rudbeckia, Shasta daisies, and Solidago. None of those are groundcovers though. They've never eaten my Iceplants, or California poppies (12" - 15").

Hey, what about herbs? The deer never eat anything in that bed, which includes sage, thyme, oregano, chives, garlic chives, lavender, winter savory, and parsley. Plus, they smell wonderful, and you can use them for cooking.

Be sure to post some "after" photos!

Bonnie

Thanks Bonnie for the thoughts! I have decided to put a butterfly bush in that back bed against the house. I also have some penstemon and some alyssum in there. The herb garden for the side bed is an excellent idea! Maybe the smells of the herbs will detract the deer from eating my daylilies...wishful thinking...I was also thinking about putting in some portulaca but I like your idea better! Thanks again!

Hey Billie...I really like the idea of rhubarb too! Can I plant herbs with rhubarb? I wish the deer knew they weren't supposed to like lilacs...they like mine...I do have a lot of iris out back that the deer have seemed to get the memo about not being yummy. Thanks for the thought about the rhubarb. i have a large bed of strawberries in my garden "compound" that would go quite nicely with the rhubarb...:)

Funny you should ask, Karen! That is EXACTLY where my rhubarb is ... in the herb bed. It was the only place I had room at the time.

They are in the top left corner, on either side of the French tarragon, which is ginormous by the end of the summer. Not sure which is the bigger space hog, the rhubarb or the tarragon! This bed slopes down, so the plants at the top of the photo are bigger than they appear.

Bonnie - pretty herbs! The chives are gorgeous!! "bigger than they appear." I have mirrors that say something like that, just thought that was amusing.

karen - I wouldn't think there would be any problem with the combo, but guess bonnie confirmed it. I might be able to find you a rhubarb for swap, if you would be interested.

Billie