Get some spray deer/rabbit repellant, such as Plantskydd and some chicken wire. Rabbits don't like aromatic foliage such as lavender. They also don't eat poisonous things, such as daffodils, although they did take a bite out of a monkshood once.

I'm using Liquid Fence right now. It works well, but won't keep a really determined rabbit away. Foxglove is poisonous so they won't eat that. I think Agastache is supposed to be safe since it has aromatic foliage. Chicken wire works the best and you shouldn't need to leave it up all year. I only see damage in spring and sometimes in fall.

put some sharp wooden bamboo sticks around your plants - read that on one of these forums here on garden web - animals don't want to get "poked"

In my garden, rabbits don't eat these perennials, so I plant a wide variety of them:

Heuchera
Sedum
Alchemilla
Peonies
Iris
Daylily
Penstemon
Geraniums
Astilbe
Poppies
Baptisia
Monkshood (poisonous, as entling says)
Catmint
Salvias / Sages
Daffodils
Campanula
Columbine

All else is fair game, and thus behind chicken wire or in pots out of reach.

If you were farther west (although you do have some in Illinois...Kankakee) I'd recommend trying to attract bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer), by putting out some artificial cover for them to hide under, hahaha. Other than that....listen to the other people ;)
~Mike

I get a lot of rabbit damage in my garden also. Their absolute favorites in my garden are emerging lilies leaves (and sometimes the tops where the blooms are), clematis, echinaceas (especially the new scented varieties like Sunrise), and Aster Purple Dome.

The nice list Deeje supplied of safe plants is pretty much the same for me. BTW, I have never had the bunnies eat any of my ornamental grasses: miscanthus, panicums, feather reeds, or pennisetums, nor any of my larger sedges (carex), although various C. morrowii cultivars have been pretty much removed from the garden because they were constantly eaten into nothing.

I cage the bases of my two dozen clematis with wire hardware cloth (small holes), since they are by far the most important plants. These cages stay on permanently. I also usually cage any brand new shrub for the winter, because the winter rabbit damage (especially on things like Koreanspice viburnum can be terrible). I let the rest of the garden pretty much take its hits.

It annoys me about the lilies, but I just keep adding more each year and get enough to put on a show. It doesn't really kill the lily but certainly cuts back on its growth and blooms. I haven't been able to figure which ones they prefer. It seems to be more location than type, but I am not sure. I have put little collars on new bulbs to get them started but its a real pain to do for each bulb.

I have taken to either raising the new echinaceas up in pots on shelves above the bunny attacks (they'll come right on the patio for a this coneflower snack) or surrounding them with sedums. Once the leaves get old the bunnies are on to something else. The bunnies mostly leave my old purple varieties alone, but I have so much of them, maybe its not noticeable. Unfortunately they don't touch any of the Black-eyed Susans which spread everywhere in the garden. I could use some help with them! :~)

Purple Dome aster is the perfect bunny food. They devour this stuff. Fortunately it grows like a weed here and can be split almost every year to make new plants. I just slice off a chunk with a shovel, when I want some somewhere else. Purple Dome even manages to bloom quite well despite the bunny attacks. I now plant it with every patch of phlox. The bunnies eat the PD and leave most of the phlox, not all, but more than they used to leave.

I heartily suggest that you buy one PD, protect it with hardware cloth the first year. The next year divide it into four parts, protect one, and plant the rest around high risk plants. Works pretty well. Also just keep planting, if you provide a big enough buffet, the rabbits damage won't send you over the moon (usually), although I have certainly been know to wail loudly at various times, threatening death and traps and poisons, not that I actually do it!! I don't think. LOL.

I sprinkle cayenne pepper on the plants that I notice they like the most, they really don't like it! Also using minced garlic around my garden has scared one away that was building a nest in my bee balm. But after the rain washes it away you need to replace it. My only other suggestion would be to get a dog, or outdoor cat, they do the job too! You just have to watch that the dog dosen't dig up your plants! -Jessica

thanks, everyone. I'm going to give it another try! Also, I bought a plastic, life size owl that i move in the garden every few days, plus an ornamental jalapeno pepper plant. I can tell they tasted the pepper but left it uneaten. The plant is pretty and hopefully will spread a bit.