Joe,
Understand the high end deal, when we received this last call I went to my old boss who does more research on deer/elk and other cervid fencing than you can imagine through the years. They have evaluated all types of fence, deterrents, scaring devices etc... all rigorous scientific study. Since I know him I know how he tests things and trust implicitly his knowledge and those that have worked alongside him.
He recommended the invisible poly mesh fencing, google that and you will see some really nice looking pretty much impossible to see fence setups many on high end property. Still likely won't fit the bill for this client by the sound of it, but maybe another up the road some day.
We looked into all the other lets call them "deterrents" on the market and while some work for some time, they all have pros and cons.
In the end like many clients likely comes down to how bad her problem is and how far she decides she's willing to go to modify or exclude the landscape.
If it was a smaller garden area I'd try to the hot wire setup with liquid peanut butter to get them a good hit when they come to the fence. This "training" is one of the important aspects as in many soil conditions including I imagine yours which is likely similar to mine, grounding is extremely difficult with the hoof/hair setup of deer. If they don't get enough of a shock, they simply don't mind and continue to raid the veggies or landscape.
Hope something here helps someone, I've got a pile of literature including companies that sell these products, a quick google search will get you the companies and they all make various grades of poles and attachments for aesthetically driven clients.
One other option, tell her to adopt a pooch and get some invisible fence! The right dogs have worked wonders in organic gardens and orchards and even timber regrowth areas in various parts of the country, just add food and water and away you go! Just make sure its not a poodle!
Later,
Justin
