The yellow columbines are blooming for me here, Nancy. They aren't deer proof but deer resistant or maybe least preferred.

The neighbor's yellow sedum has just begun to bloom. I believe that they are thought to be safe from deer.

California poppies are just getting started.

Our natural landscape has been one yellow blaze after another. First balsamroot and zizia, now the fallow fields are beginning to go to wild mustard blooms. Perhaps your purples are a civilized contrast.

digitS'

I was going to suggest Yarrow, which is growing like crazy in my front yard, yellow and red. But so much so that it could take over that wonderful hill you are talking about. Yellow and Orange Coreopsis? Jeesh, Nancy, your the one I would come to for answers. Am almost embarrassed to answer.

Sky should be here soon to give you direction on plants. And, she is talking about heading down here in late June, so we may be visiting your garden together. I told her your's was a "must see". Mine is still a "must finish".

Well, I'm no expert...but I did check out a xeriscape book from the library last week!
Iceland poppy, Papaver nudicaule, yellow, to zone 3, yellow/white
Silver groundsel, Senecio longilobus, z5, yellow
Navajo tea, Thelasperma megapotamica, z4, like yellow coreopsis
Golden perennial flax, Linum flavum, z5, bright yellow
Prairie zinnia, Zinnia grandiflorum, z5, bight and deep yellow
Mountain gold, Alyssum montanum, z4, deep yellow
Sundrops, Calylophus serrulatus, z3, deep yellow
False sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides, z4, deep yellow
Sweet avens, Geum quellyon, z5, redish orange/yellow
Feverfew, Tanacetum parthenium, z5, yellow/white

good luck, I hope some of these work for you!
J.

Hi Nancy,

I can make plenty of recommendations for non-purple flowers, but a lot of them arent listed as deer resistant. Here are some of the ones that are on my DR list.

The yellow achilleas, A. ÂAnthea (pale yellow), and A. ÂMoonshine (YELLOW) donÂt spread as insanely as the A. millefolium, so theyÂre a good possibility. A. filipendulina ÂParkerÂs is another yellow that wonÂt spread, but the foliage isnÂt as pretty as the two above, and it gets taller. The first two are, by far, the best. All the achilleas are listed as DR, including the creeping onesÂa couple with white flowers, and A. tomentosa with bright yellow flowers, but thatÂs more of a spring bloomer, and it sounds like you have enough yellow then!

The foxgloves are DR, and probably rabbit resistant and everything else resistant too. Digitalis grandiflora has yellow flowers and is a true perennial, as is D. lutea which is a creamy yellow. And D. mertonensis, strawberry foxglove has raspberry-pink flowers that would be real pretty with your purplesÂalso a true perennial.

I second the coreopsis suggestion, which is also on my list as DR, tho it sure seems to me that would be something that deer would likeÂbut, then again, IÂve never tasted one, so maybe they taste really, really bad!

Gaillardia has already been suggested, and if you really want all yellow, there are some plain yellow ones in addition to the regular dark red and yellow. I show it as DR.

Gypsophila paniculata, babyÂs breath is on my DR list, and some tall, white, airy stuff with the ones you have might be real pretty. Also comes in pinkÂÂPink Festival is a single pink, and ÂPink Fairy is a double pink.

Perennial sunflowers, Helianthus decapetalus, about 4' tall is DR, tho it may bloom later than you wantÂlate summer/fall. And H. Maximilianii, the BIG oneÂ6'. Again, blooms late.

Daylilies are shown as DR. Since you have several tall things already, you may want something shorter. Stella dÂOro is the short, repeat bloomerÂor any of the taller ones in almost any color but blue.

Do you have any of the yellow lupines? Or pink or white.

Rudbeckia is listed as DR. R. fulgida ÂGoldsturm is a reliably hardy one.

Another late summer yellow thatÂs DR is Solidago, goldenrod. Lots of different heights, and the flowers are quite different between varieties, so check pictures first if youÂre considering it. I like S. canadensis ÂGolden BabyÂ, about 24" high and I like the look of the flowers.

Oh! I almost forgot! Are you familiar with chocolate flower? Berlandiera lyrata! ItÂs DR, a Colorado native, and has the most wonderful milk chocolate scent. As I understand it, not always easy to overwinter, but it reseeds very easily. This one smells so good youÂll be hungry every time you get a whiff of it!

Echinacea purpurea comes in a nice white too, and it would be a nice change in form from the ones you already have. ÂWhite Swan is the most common white one. DR

For some non-yellow spring things (on my DR list) how about Snow-in-summer, Cerastium tomentosum, white; creeping phlox, P. subulata or P. douglasii, pink, blue, white; or AjugaÂthereÂs that purple againÂthere are some ajugas with really cool leaves these days. Or thereÂs Lamium maculatum. ÂPink Pewter is a lovely soft pink. IÂll probably have at least a few of them at the Fall Swap. For spring IÂd also recommend trying a rock cress or two, Arabis or Aubrieta. Not on the DR list, but very pretty and worth a try.

ThatÂs all I can think of for now, but now the disclaimer! I donÂt have deer, so I have not test driven any of these! And since deer donÂt read the lists, IÂm sure you know by now that itÂs strictly trial and errorÂhopefully not too much of the error!

Let us know what you decide to put in,
Skybird

Whoops! Just re-read your post and I was so concentrating on the deer resistant part, I missed the xeric part! Take out the foxglove, Helianthus decapetalus, Rudbeckia, and lupines--but you said you already have lupines? If your lupines are doing well, you have plenty of water for the H.d. and the Rudbeckia. In sun the foxglove would need considerable water. Digitalis obscura is xeric, rusty-orange flowers---but not showy.

Bedtime,
Skybird

I am a *big* fan of gaillardia, and I'm currently growing some cuttings of an all-yellow specimen I found in my garden that had just mutated that way from seed. They flower all summer and into the fall. Mine started blooming a few weeks ago. I have several volunteers that showed up in unirrigated locations in my yard, and they lived and bloomed right through last summer without a drop of supplemental water. Very impressive plants!

Also, Anthemis seems quite deer resistant to me, and it gets a nice yellow daisy-style flower through summer. But mine are quite invasive (Anthemis tinctoria 'Kelwayi'). Maybe some others are better behaved. Oh yeah, and they seem pretty xeric to me, although perhaps not as good as Gaillardia.

Other than that, I'd check out High Country Gardens website to find more xerics that fit your needs. It's been a long time since I ordered from them, but I was quite happy with their quality and service.

I got to thinking about the conversation Nancy and I had about gaillardia. Some of it comes back, and other types seem to have a tough time. Steve, do you know which one is really hardy? I planted some more in the back this year, but the front ones are barely popping back up. They were rampant their first year of planting.

Did we mention Hardy Geranium? Many colors to choose from and they put out flowers consistantly. Would really work on the hill with the rock walls.

Sky, I didn't know that Achillea came in so many varieties. Short, tall, creeping. Well, maybe a little. The ones in front are almost 3' high and wide, bright reds and yellows. Tons of buds ready to burst. What I really like about this plant is color throughout the summer and into fall. Although cutting down late fall is a job...pain with pleasure.

My overseeding of the back lawn with creeping achillea has been interesting. A sun loving plant, it is covering the area under the apple tree (total shade) and some of the areas where a lot of pebbles were left. With the rains it got washed into crevices and areas not planned and I probably seeded it a bit early, but now has leaves about 1" long. This could take over Nancy's hill a bit too much.

I'd take out the daylilies too, a trip to the daylily forum will show they're not deer resistant. And, while they may survive in dry conditions, they really need plenty of water to perform well. Stella d'Oro and Happy Returns are the only ones blooming so far, but the rest are just now putting up scapes.
Tis a shame, because there are some really really gorgeous ones out there.

I've got dianthus knappii getting ready to bloom. It's a pretty pale yellow, and has not appealed to the deer where I live. Not sure about how xeric it is, though.

Skybird recommended a white echinacea, there is also a golden yellow one called 'Harvest Moon'. It is both xeric and deer resistant, but out of the three I planted late last fall, only one returned. That may not be a reflection on the hardiness of the plant, but due to the fact that they weren't established before the winter.

There is also a yellow scabiosa (pincushion) which should be xeric, not sure about the DR part, or when they actually start blooming.

Cnetter, I hate to hear that daylillies aren't DR, since I've added a half dozen of them this spring. Oh well, they have to have something to nibble on in my garden now that the tulips are gone, LOL. Actually, where I live, the deer come around more during the winter months, so my garden may not be a true testing ground.

Oh, and another one blooming right now is hardy yellow iceplant. Very xeric, and great for slopes and rock gardens.

Just want to make sure that we are all talking about the same blooming season. And, if that is a requirement Nancy has in mind.

If you are wanting yellows with your lupins, iris, nepeta, and salvia, Nancy . . . Well, my lupins that weren't cut are fast goin' to seed and I think there's only one iris bloom still in the yard (other than Siberian). The salvias of various types are kind of in the middle of their bloom cycle.

However, no gaillardia flowers have yet opened altho' they are close. So is the coreopsis - close. Anthemis tinctoria, (Golden Marguerites) are close. I may have set the ones in the sun back a fair amount by moving them this Spring. Dad has some in the shade and I don't believe that they even have buds yet.

Echinacea - no, not yet, altho' I don't have a yellow. Rudbeckia . . . no, not quite. Dad's helianthus hasn't bloomed yet but I never pay much attention to it. My daylilies all receive only morning sun and none are the dwarf varieties - so they aren't blooming.

So what's going on with my flowers?? Lots of sweet Williams and painted daisies so there's plenty of reds and pinks; foxglove in great supply many are white but nothing in yellow; and the Canterbury bells are just starting to open. That'll be a LOT more purple, Nancy!

I just realized that the wild yellow toadflax are also blooming their fool heads off. That made me wonder if you have some nicely protected locations like close to the house where snapdragons can overwinter. Purchasing them at this time of year when they are close to blooming in the flats would certainly be possible but those plants that dodge the heavy frost are blooming now as well.

digitS'

Emagineer,

I tried the maroon gaillardia, and it did not come back reliably. Seems they like a dry winter, and mine was too wet. The ones I have experience with are the regular perennial Gaillardia grandiflora. They come back quite well and are flowering now -- just beginning in the past few weeks. These are the typical red and yellow blanket flowers. But having propagated some all-yellow specimens, I'm hoping to get the same performance from them as I do the regular grandifloras. We'll see this summer. These flowers typically reseed pretty well (without being what I'd consider invasive), but I imagine my yellow ones will get polluted by the yellow and red ones, and I don't expect to get all-yellow children from them.

Well, it appears that I am due for the education side of plants. Too many assumptions from past with all that sure look like the same to me, but are definitely different.
"Perennial Gaillardia grandiflora" I must have planted two different kinds in front. One group of 3 came back double their size, but only a few shoots on one plant of 5 bought at a different time from same nursery. This tells me the time bought is going to make a difference in the species and would think the early ones would be the survivors which isn't so in this case.

Plus, the Yarrow is so large it is overtaking everything else I planted, you wouldn't know there was another plant in front. A total surprise from past experience where the russian sage was the big guy in the garden. But I have gone from new home clay to old home garden soil.

Well, this was totally off the subject. Thanks for the input Steve.

Hi everybody,

Many thanks for all the suggestions but digitS is correct. I was looking for yellow blooming plants that are in bloom right now. I think there were lots of good suggestions for later in the year so I may use some of them in other areas.

However, I am pleased to announced that I am saved from the all purple theme. I must have been out there on a cloudy day because the perennial yellow gazanias are in full bloom if the sun is out. And I also noticed that the penstemon pinifolius has about 4 blooms on it with lots more coming and there are two blooms on the moonshine yarrow. I am saved!!! Yeah.

My thanks again, Nancy

Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana', is a short spring blooming coreopsis. Mine started near the beginning of May this year and is still blooming--tho it's getting near the end now. The flowers are 12-18" high and it's a little bit orangier than the others.

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Trollius, yellow or orange are just starting too.

Is you penstemon pinifolius the orange or yellow variety, because if you have just the orange variety and it's relativley deer proof for you, then it also comes in yellow and mango (orange/yellow blend). Mine is blooming now, but since I don't know how deer proof it is, I didn't want to recommend it.

Retraction!

I keep forgetting all the parameters here! Trollius does better in the shade and is not xeric. I don't know about the deer resistance--not on my list.

My list shows penstemon deer resistance varies among the species/varieties, but two other lists online just list penstemon spp. without the caveat.

Hi Skybird,

Thanks for the Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana' suggestion. I have Zagreb in the garden but it isn't blooming yet of course. It does look like it will be blooming soon though. I got an email from emagineer today and I hear you may be visiting my garden next week. You are always welcome in my garden.

Hi cnetter,

I have penstemon pinifolius in orange - although it is really more of a coral color in my garden. I also had the mango color in a different garden but haven't seen it this year. The mango color showed up for a few years but was never as hardy as the orange. I am about 6300' and am suffering from pushing my cold hardiness for the last several years. We finally got a cold harsh winter after several mild winters and I lost quite a few marginal plants. Oh, penstemon pinifolius and all the rest of the penstemons that I grow have never been touched by deer.

Thanks, Nancy