Carolina Allspice

If you have deer visit your garden, consider planting Calycanthus floridus.

A wonderful, easy-to-grow shrub, Carolina allspice features strongly fragrant dark red flowers in early summer. The show doesn’t stop there; the leaves often turn a nice shade of yellow in the fall.

Carolina allspice is largely left alone by deer, probably thanks to its clove-scent foliage. The shrub thrives in full sun or part shade and in moist, well-drained soil. It’s native to areas of North America.

This deciduous shrub has a dense, rounded habit, growing 6 to 9 feet tall and as wide. Its unusual, waterlily-like, fragrant flowers combine the scent of strawberries, banana, and pineapple. Flowers appear in May and continuing blooming on and off into June and July. The dark green leaves and bark release a clove or camphor-like scent when crushed.