I might add, the front of the house faces East and we are in zone 7a

big city name location plz ... ken

Northern baltimore county

Dwarf pieris ('Cavatine', 'Prelude', 'Little Heath'), Sarcococca ruscifolia, various azaleas or dwarf rhododendrons, Mahonia 'Soft Caress'.

My deer don't seem to favor Spirea much. Dozens of small S. japonica cultivars to choose from that may cover most of your wants except the invasive part. That's a lot of wants from a living plant.

Oh, gardengal, deer adore azaleas.

Different deer have different appetites. They never touch the rhodies or azaleas here - and there are a lot of them - but they do graze a lot of other shrubs.

Dwarf Abelia, Soft touch Holly, Maryland Holly, Dwarf spirea, Daphne odora

The deer in my neighborhood eat azaleas as well as Itea, and Clethra. They have not eaten my Holly, Fothergilla, Sweetshrub, or Japanese Pieris. They mostly leave the spirea alone but do nibble it. They have also eaten my Viburnums, Service Berry, and Hydrangea. They even ate my Monkshood.

They ate your Monkshood? Did you find a carcass?