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Lavender Companions
There are many wonderful companions for lavender.
Your lavender can take 3-5 years to reach mature size. Leave it room to grow. Some suitable perennials are: salvia, sedums, bergamot, Black eyed Susans and the smaller varieties are a wonderful front border for roses. Lavender does very well along a path or driveway as the plants love the reflected heat.
I have L. angustifolia 'Hidcote', L. angustifolia 'Nana' and L. angustifolia 'Rosea' planted in front of roses in my garden.
Below is the beautiful David Austin Rose called 'Mary Rose'. In front of it is L. angustifolia 'Rosea', showing just a hint of pink in the flowers.
Roses
Lavender and roses are enchanting companions. The lavender doesn't compete with the roses for food or water. In fact, I try not to water the lavender as much as my roses. If you would like a border of purple L. a. 'Hidcote' or L. a. 'Munstead', you can't go wrong planting pink, yellow or red roses behind the lavender for a beautiful show.
Englishman David Austin set about to produce roses that repeat bloom and are loaded with fragrance and he succeeded. His roses are so popular, they started a new class of roses, called 'English Roses'. The pink rose above, Mary Rose, is an example of his roses.
Lavender in the Herb Garden
Lavender, because it likes hot conditions does well with most other herbs. It is in the same family as Rosemary and grows well with Rosemary, oregano, thymes. I would avoid planting mint near by as it has a tendency to spread and might interfere with young lavender plants.
Rock Gardens
The smaller varieties like L. angustifolia 'Munstead' do well in rock gardens and with similar plants.
Perennials
In my area, Echinaceas have become very popular.
The large, daisy-like flowers are born on strong drought resistant plants. They
bloom late summer and into the fall. They come in
pinks, white, yellow and
orange, all nice colors for lavender. They tend to be 1 meter tall,
(36"-40") and do well at the back of the border.
The plant shown on the right is Echinacea purpurea.
They are deer resistant. So is Lavender!
Irises are also a lovely backdrop to lavender. The mid and late season varieties will probably be in bloom when the L. angustifolias are. L. x intermedia's bloom a little later in which case, the irises may be finished.
These are a just few suggestions. Make sure when you plant other things around lavender, you give your lavender plenty of room to grow. Even the smallest varieties need 2' of space.