Feeding deer is not recommended, in part because it supports higher deer populations when the regional populations already exceed what the ecosystem can support (which either can cause some individuals to become malnourished or starve later if they can't access the supplemental food, or causes them to further damage native plants (and some non-native garden plants too) that they eat in addition to human-supplied food). It also concentrates animals that can more easily spread diseases between herds. In Maryland, feeding wildlife is not illegal with the exception of it being associated with hunting (which it sounds like is not the case here). If you wanted to verify this, you could inquire with wildlife biologists at the MD Department of Natural Resources. An email can be sent to <personal data hidden> (especially if you wanted to share photos) or, if you would like to speak to someone, they have a Wildlife and Heritage Service phone number at<personal data hidden>. The phone line is staffed during regular business hours, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, except state holidays and weekends.

If the feeding stops and deer disperse, then yes, some of them should stop putting as much browsing pressure on garden plants in neighboring yards, though a certain degree of that will persist because deer are overpopulated region-wide and because some individuals are already accustomed to finding palatable plants in those gardens and have that area as part of their home territory. A surprising percentage of deer live in suburban neighborhoods (where those areas comprise most, if not all, of their home range) rather than dwelling more in woodlands and only occasionally venturing into suburban developments.

Miri

You're welcome! Happy holidays,

Miri