What Deer Crave

• When deer set out to find a meal, they look specifically for protein-rich plants (especially in spring and summer, when young males are feeding growth spurts and developing antlers). Ideally, deer need plants that comprise at least 16 percent protein to achieve healthy body weight and support optimum antler growth. Well-cared for, fertilized, thoughtfully watered garden plants are so lush-looking because they're very rich in everything a healthy deer needs: the aforementioned protein, as well as carbohydrates, trace minerals and salts. Lavender is both protein- and mineral-poor.
  
  

Why Deer Avoid Lavender

• Lavender's delightfully herbaceous smell is the main reason deer tend to avoid it so religiously. Deer have a keen sense of smell to help them avoid predators; when grazing, deer prefer to avoid plants that overwhelm their delicate noses (and thus disrupt their well-developed early-warning system). Lavender's prickly leaves are also troublesome to grazing deer.
  
  

Not A Foolproof Solution

• Unfortunately, lavender plantings aren't foolproof against deer incursions. As with any animal, when deer are unable to find alternative food sources they'll turn to whatever foods are available (whether or not they're ideal). Overpopulation of deer in a given area will force deer to graze on lavender and other foods they don't prefer, according to University of Vermont Extension. They may also turn to lavender in the early spring, when they're famished from a long winter, and late fall (when they're fattening up for the lean season).
  
  

Growing Lavender

• Luckily, growing lavender is a snap. It's hardy, drought tolerant and happy in leaner soils. Lavenders are happiest in full sun, but they'll thrive almost anywhere once established. The lavender plant is native to the warm, dry Mediterranean region but there are varieties that thrive in nearly every growing zone. Ask an expert at your local nursery to recommend a variety that thrives in your particular micro-climate.
  
  

Other Plants To Include

• If you're looking to flesh out a deer-resistant garden with plants that look good with your bounty of lavender, there's a world of options to choose from. Many evergreen tree varieties are deer-resistant (such as white fir, pinyon pine, junipers and Colorado spruce). Some of the more beautiful shrub complements to lavender are the copper rose, lilac, grape holly and the exuberantly red-berried pyracantha. Deer-resistant flowers and flowering plants abound, as well: echinacea, peonies, blazing-stars, Shasta daisies, lily-of-the-valley and kitchen herbs (such as sage, thyme, marjoram, chives and any sort of mint).