I regularly do battle with people that insist on planting hostas and hydrangaes... I believe that they attract the deer from all over the state... So... if you actually want the deer creating nice pathways through the garden beds... There is just not enough deer-away products on the market to protect those things...
Washington state has tons of native ferns... i'd totally think native fern garden, with different types in different beds. Problem is... down here, bambi has a taste for some of the fern types when the herds are thick enuff.
What about some nice rocks?
Plant some hexastylis and western trilliums at the base of the boulders... Depending on the depth of the shade, you might even be able to plant some of those desirable pacific coast iris that the rest of us long for...
Im not sure about the western shrubs... but don't yall have western versions of florida anise, and sweet shrub? problem with sweet shrub... is the suckering. Not really a good choice... and everybody uses it here.
Rose of sharon makes an interesting possibility... the deer browse it, and cause it to become a shrub... there are people who do that deliberately!
And... Everybody grows hellebore... surprised that nobody has mentioned them yet... They're completely avoided by the deer... and what about mahonia... seems like it would be everywhere out on the west coast...
