I'm not near Tampa, but I will actually BE in Tampa Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday-ish this coming week. (Helping my sister move) I don't have a definite plant for when I'll be there or how long I'll stay, but I'd love to try to arrange something. Where in Tampa are you? I don't know the area, but my sister lives in what she calls the "Carrollwood" area, near Bearss and Dale Mabry roads. Any of that make sense to you? I"ll email this to you, too.

Spirea Anthony Waterer. Raspberry flowers late summer thru fall. Pest free and free growing. You can cut back each year to a few inches above ground... or let stand as is and prune if necessary. Rubus odoratum: fruit-bearing shrub, foliage turns red in fall, fast growing, grows easily to 4 ft. if not cut back. Weigela 'Carnaval': another fast grower, heavy bloomer in July(2 shades of pink) and again in fall, variegated foliage, a personal fave! Mine are currently 5 ft and 4 ft wide. Wonderful against a dark wall...

There's a California forum that might have suggestions for you since you haven't gotten any specific plant suggestions here. Since you are in the SF Bay area, I'd suggest going to some of the great nurseries or public gardens in your area as Embothrium suggested. Take a note pad and a camera to record ideas. For instance, Annie's Annuals (which despite the name currently lists 49 shrubs as available and has a lot more on their plant list) is in Richmond and the San Francisco Botanical Garden (formerly known as Strybing Arboretum) is a fantastic place to view plants that enjoy your area.

First, get rid of the ivy - it is considered a noxious weed in OR (and most other places in the PNW as well) and it is a habitat for rodents. Same with any English holly. Deer will graze various plants with thorns so that is not exactly a guarantee and rugosa roses need sun. Various evergreen shrubs should work for you - a spreading yew, sweet box (Sarcococca species), Pieris japonica and native huckleberries (they'll eat the berries but leave the plants alone) are all relatively deer resistant, however young animals will invariably sample anything and even the adults will test out things new to the garden to see if they are tasty or not so it is best to protect initially. You can also try underplanting with hellebores - completely deer proof - and hardy geraniums like maculatum or macrorrhizum which apparently haver an unpleasant taste. If your property is regularly traveled by deer - and most of us in the PNW experience their visits to some degree or another - try planting so that you leave pathways to prevent trampling of young plants.