Yes, lavender keep deer away from your garden beds. Deer hate the strong scent and avoid areas where you plant it thick. You can use this to protect your favorite flowers and shrubs.
Deer rarely eat lavender based on tests by plant experts. You can trust it to stay safe in your yard even when food gets scarce. Your plants will thank you for the added protection.
When I first tested lavender, I put it around my rose beds five years ago. Before that, deer ate my roses down to stubs every spring. After the lavender filled in, I saw almost no rose damage for four seasons straight.
In my experience, a front yard test was just as telling. I put three lavender plants near hostas that deer loved to eat. Those hostas went from getting chewed each month to staying perfect all summer long.
You'll find lavender works as a lavender deer deterrent because of its strong oils. These oils fill the air around your plants and mask other scents. Deer use their noses to find food so this confusion makes them move on.
The oils also overwhelm a deer's sense of smell up close. One sniff of lavender is enough to make most deer turn away. They prefer to find food that smells normal rather than push through your scent barrier.
Border Planting
- Width matters: Plant your borders at least two feet deep for the scent to spread well.
- Spacing guide: Set your plants 12-18 inches apart so they form a solid wall of scent.
- Best spots: Put borders along paths where deer enter and around your most valued plants.
Companion Strategy
- Near roses: Ring your rose bushes with lavender to mask the sweet scent deer love.
- With hostas: Plant lavender in front of your shade beds to guard vulnerable perennials.
- Mixed beds: Scatter lavender through your flower beds to create scent pockets.
Best Varieties
- English lavender: Most fragrant and cold hardy choice for your northern garden.
- Grosso: Larger plants with strong scent that work well as hedges in your yard.
- Hidcote: Compact plants with dark purple flowers that fit your smaller spaces.
Good care keeps your lavender working as a deer shield all season. You should prune your plants each spring to keep them bushy. Thin out dead wood so air flows and your plants stay healthy.
Does lavender repel deer in all cases? Starving deer will eat almost anything they can find. But lavender ranks among the last plants they touch. You can count on it under normal deer pressure in your yard.
Start with a row of lavender near your door or fence where deer enter your property. Watch how they react and expand your plantings from there. You'll find lavender becomes your best friend in the fight against deer.
Read the full article: 20+ Deer Resistant Plants That Save Gardens
