Hungry deer will destroy holly.

What they haven't eaten here is boxwood and spruce. Arborvitae and yews are, of course, ungrowable without a fence. Red cedar and firs get nibbled, rhodos and holly get eaten.

I'd just change the parameters and go deciduous.

It might be helpful to remove the 'blocking noise' criteria from your list as well - plants do not provide any sort of satisfactory noise suppression, even in some thickness or density, evergreen OR deciduous.

Virburnum dentatum will get to be tall. It spreads out to fill in nicely. However, it is deciduous, but it can be dense. And it takes several years for it to get to be as tall as you want. Birds love the berries. Not so much anything else.

You might need to bend a bit on what you want and what is practical.

Jim

Hi from a NJ neighbor.

Have you checked Rutgers Publication #E271, Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance? (Link below for your convenience.) You'll have to check to see which are suited to your needs. Just remember that the appetites of deer populations may differ, and when they're very hungry all bets are off!

For a comprehensive list of non-native invasive plants for this region, check out the NJ Invasive Species Strike Team website at www.njisst.org - there's a "Do Not Plant List" at the lower left corner of the page.

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance

Thank you for the suggestions and link... I am very flexible on my wants, except it must be reasonably deer resistant. As far as noise abatement is concerned, ever walk thru a cornfield maze? You can hardly hear the people in the next row. I know nothing is going to eliminate the traffic noise, but adding some privacy and deadening the noise a little is all I'm hoping for.

Thanks again.

That's true what you say about sound in a cornfield. One does not need to get far into the field before they can see or hear little. That makes me think that some of the tall ornamental grasses with thick, dense foliage (like Miscanthus) might be the best bet for overcoming or tempering sound.