They will eat Japanese Maples- I've tried several cultivars in my non-fenced areas and they have nibbled every one.

I would go with a mixed border of conifers (Junipers, Chamaecyparis, Thuja) interspersed with a variety of shrubs (holly, spirea, cotoneaster, forsythia, serviceberry, boxwood, barberry etc.).

I have a large area filled with Lespedeza 'Gibraltar' that works really well- they get nibbled occasionally but grow so vigorously that it doesn't matter and they put on a great show in a time of year when not much else is happening (late summer), plus they stay full down to the ground and make a great barrier, and don't any watering attention from me. They don't eat hardy bananas (Musa basjoo) and they fill in very quickly as well.

These are just the things I have had good luck with regarding deer. They eat most everything else and have even been bold enough to come on my front porch to get my potted annuals.

Good luck- if this is an established deer trail you may have a hard time convincing them to change their habits.

Thanks. For the most part the trees and bushes that seem to make it are junipers, box woods, and barberry. Everything else seems to be fair game.

Currently I'm looking into adding a Siberian fir, two concolor firs, a rohani beech, and possibly a Korean fir. I worry about the Korean being finicky. Also blue spruce made it on the list, although I'm worried about disease.