woofie,
I actually planted a few echinacea in the same garden bed this past summer. The deer don't bother them, but I still kept my eyes out for groundhogs. From past experience they found them very tasty, but no problems during this past summer. Could have something to do with my cat, Patch. He "guards" the yard. lol -- For years, we always had groundhogs living under our back deck and they would feast on a lot of my flowers. Since we've had Patch (almost 3 years) they haven't taken up residence there and they actually tend to stay away from the house.
Below is my "guard" cat.
