Shrubs bestow privacy, a sense of enclosure and a splash of colour during winter. In this houzz.com post, Brian Barth gives hope to discouraged homeowners who are tired of watching the local deer population feast on their shrubs.
Needle-bearing shrubs like the juniper will survive deer grazing, but they can lack artistic appeal. Barth identifies 8 other options that have at least one redeeming aesthetic trait besides being evergreen.
Heath and heather are an unusual group of low shrubs with colorful flowers and needle-like leaves that change colour as the weather gets cold. Doghobble spreads as it grows, making it ideal for erosion control, and forms a 2 - 4 foot high copse of glossy green foliage with white flowers and branches that have a graceful arching quality.
Boxwood can be pruned into any shape so it is perfect for elegant hedges (10 inches to 10 feet tall) that outline or accent gardens and large landscapes. Holly, a group of shrubby plants with sizes to fit any garden, is known for prickly leaves and red berries, which survive well into winter.
Oregon grape produces yellow flowers in spring, then grape-like berries, and it has a unique upright growth pattern with its foliage clustered at the top of thick canes.