Down the road, Jim Orband's hostas struggle to survive because the deer consider them a real delicacy. The stories of deer leaving woodland areas to nibble on precious plants is much the same in the Williamsburg and Smithfield areas. Ride through Kingsmill and you will see wire fencing wrapped around shrubs. Even Virginia Beach is noticing a few unwanted deer.

Unfortunately, there are no definite solutions other than to install deer-deterrent fencing and to garden with plants that have the most deer-resistant reputations. Companies are experimenting with and making products such as Tree Guard, a solution you spray on foliage and hope its taste and odor repel deer. These products tend to wash off with rain and must be reapplied frequently to be effective. Often, they work at first but then the smart deer catch on and munch away.

``Planting ornamental plants that deer do not like to eat is a solution to deer browsing,'' writes the University of Georgia. ``Remember, though, that very few plants are totally deer resistant. Deer prefer tender new foliage on newly planted ornamentals and those fertilized to produce lush new growth. During dry weather, deer are attracted to irrigated plants. Buck deer also cause considerable damage to young trees by rubbing them with their antlers. Repellents will not stop antler rubbing.''

There are gardeners, however, who manage to survive with deer. Cindy Hitchens of Williamsburg and her neighbors put a salt block in the bottom of the valley along with other things deer like.

Extension agents and animal specialists cringe when they hear about homeowners purposefully feeding deer but Cindy says it's working for her.

And that's not all she does: ``The best deer deterrent, however, has to be a mid to large dog with a deep voice who has free run of the area in question. I discovered my two Jack Russell terriers were only a temporary inconvenience whereas my husky was more effective.''

PLANT CHECK LIST

Deer love: aucuba, apples, Asiatic lilies, candytuft, camellia, cherries, clematis, crocus, daylilies, evergreen azaleas, hibiscus, hosta, hydrangea, hybrid tea roses, Indian hawthorn, pansies, black-eyed susans, roses, Autumn Joy sedum, fatsia, grape hyacinths, rhododendron, tulips, winged euonymus, yews and violas.

Deer-resistant plants:

Trees - Leyland cypress, gingko, river birch, palms, pines, red maple, southern magnolia, spruce, deodar cedar, crape myrtle, Russian olive, cherry laurel, dogwood, Colorado blue spruce, Norway and white spruces and pines.

Shrubs - Barberry, common boxwood, hollies, Japanese pieris, American bittersweet, inkberry, mountain laurel, beautybush, anise, bottlebrushes, junipers, oleander, leatherleaf mahonia, Japanese rose, butterfly bush, cotoneaster, firethorn, gardenia, forsythia, heavenly bamboo, ornamental grasses, spirea, sweetshrub, common sassafras, corkscrew willow, common lilac, yucca, viburnum, Scotch broom and winter daphne.

Perennials/herbs - English lavender, santolinas, dusty miller, lamb's ear, ajuga and periwinkle ground covers, wire grass, Japanese wisteria, yarrow, chives, butterfly weed, coreopsis, coneflower, globe thistle, Joe-pye weed, tiger lily, loosestrife, daffodil, evening primrose, tansy, goldenrod, rosemary, sage, morning glory, foxglove, wax begonia, snapdragon, ageratum, dahlia, sweet basil, geranium, parsley, blue salvia, daffodils, cardinal flower, bee balm, boltonia, goldenrod, iris, lantana, shasta daisy, wild indigo and pinks.

Annuals: Marigold, flowering tobacco, cleome, poppy, pentas, scarlet sage, verbena, zinnia, wax begonia, parsley and sweet pea.