George (et all) you don't have to have an unattractive garden to have one that deer don't eat in. Deer can be low to high pressure and what they eat will depend on how many and how much habitat is left. There are TONS of things that you can do to deter them. There are lots of plants that can be planted that they won't eat, but like what was already mentioned a starving deer will taste most anything and possibly eat it! I live in a medium to heavy pressure area depending on the season. In years prior I have lost most every hosta in my yard, along with other items like Rhodies and small leaf hollies. I have learned a few things to help prevent deer damage. Stinky plants. Anything with a strong odor will be by passed by deer. The strong odor prevents them from being able to smell the air which is one of the ways they stay alert for danager. There are a lot of commerical "odors" that can be bought and sprayed onto plants. There are also recipes that you can make yourself. Milorganite smells awful it is an organic fertilizer and it is a wonderful deer deterent!!! Predator urines are also good placed around your yard in plastic containers in a manner that would mimic their behavior (i.e. marking a tree here and there around your property) There are sachets with blood meal in them (or you can make your own using muslin sachets) blood meal screams danger to a deer and will help send them out of the yard. There are clips that contain a potent combo of garlic and almost rotten egg. These clips you clip right to the stem of the plant in danger and they do work! In areas of taste there are systemic tablets that you can plant with your new plants. The plant takes the tablet up into its system and when the deer bite it, well it isn't the same sweet flavor they knew and loved. You can make things using garlic, hot pepper and rotten eggs to spray on your plants. Mix it with wilt proof or something similar for extended life. You can also buy premade sprays as well. I am by no means a bambi lover but I am realistic and as more and more land is developed and more and more apex predators are killed off there is nothing left to hunt the deer to keep the populations in check. I will not give up gardening because of the deer I will just work with every possible item to run them off my property. If you make it hard enough for them by assulting their sense of smell and taste they WILL go elsewhere for their meals. I mean they are like us, they want to eat where they food and atmosphere are nice! There is a book called Deer Proofing your yard and Garden that has a lot of information. The site I linked sells products that work great. I have a multi layers of denfense for my garden beds and I have a profusion of flowers and plants growing and looking great. It is the first year in four years that I have hostas! Here is a link that might be useful: Deer Busters

The deer don't eat the bark, sounds like your tree got rutted by deer (that usually happens in the autumn 'round about November here). Yes, the injury will closely close up as the callus tissue forms over it over the course of a few growing seasons. Trees do never "heal" (this is an animal ability), plants will grow over the dead tissue. DO NOT WRAP YOUR TREE. Leave it exposed to UV light, drying winds, etc. Before the next autumn you might try to protect the trunk from further damage (they sell various tree guards at better nurseries). Maybe it is just my experience, but the deer seem to target NEW trees. Many new trees that I put into the ground got targeted by the deer for that FIRST year..., Magnolia grandiflora, Gingko biloba, Cedrus atlantica. Every time it happened, I felt sick and was convinced that the tree was a goner. Well, the Magnolia is totally covered over; the Gingko too. Still have to wait another season for the Cedar. If there is dry weather you might supply additional water to the damaged tree (as the injury does temporary impede the flow of water and nutrients up the tree). Another thing you can do to help trees is leave low branches..., less attractive to deer (they prefer something that looks like a telephone poll.)

I feel your pain. The same thing just happened to me. I also had reason to believe I was safe from deer for a while. Well the fencing is back up and will stay up for a long time until I thing the plants can handle a trimming. Ive done alot of research and thats the best way to go...

very clean edge, it looks like they were cut with scissors, but no one has access to my back yard other than me and my dogs - if it were the dogs, I'd expect there to be some evidence or an overturned pot. I guess my question really is, what kinds of animals eat avocado leaves? I can only think that it was raccoons or rats that did this, thoughts?