15 Jan Create a dog friendly garden
With the weather now improving, now is a great time to make your garden dog friendly.
Like cats, dogs love herbs.
Herbs are great, as they can be grown both in the garden borders as well as in containers.
At a glance, I have listed some plants below that are safe for dogs which at the same time, are aesthetically pleasing.
• Calendula
• Sunflower
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Lavender
• Cornflower
• Rose
• Spiderplant
• Petunia
• Snapdragon
• Bamboo
• Basil
Plants that are toxic to dogs include;
• Wisteria
• Foxgloves
• Chrysanthemums
• Hydrangea
• Yew
• Larkspur
• Daffodil bulbs
If your dog eats any of the toxic plants above, symptoms can be fatal.
Symptoms can include;
• Vomiting
• Lethargy
• Breathing difficulties
Other plants and seeds that could be potentially poisonous to your pooch, include;
• Aconites
• Aloe vera
• Amaryllis bulbs
• Apple seeds
• Apricot kernals
• Azaleas – can cause vomiting and coma
• Gypsophilia
• Bay trees (Laurus nobilis) can cause diarrhoea and vomiting
• Dicentra is poisonous in large amounts
• bluebells
• Buxus sempervirens
• Broom (Cytisus)
• Canna lily (Zantedeschia)
• Chrysanthemum
• Tulips
• Rhododendrons can cause coma or breathing difficulties.
As many dogs love to dig in the garden soil and chew on the foliage, sometimes you just need to keep your dogs away from your borders and save your plants! There are several ways of doing this;
- Put a fence around your border; this provides a physical barrier.
- Consider using containers; if your dog really wants to have a rummage through your plants, using containers will make it more tricky as your dog will be forced to jump in them!
- Grow a prickly barrier; consisting of rose bushes, pyracantha or even cacti. As understandably, like us dogs don’t like getting prickled!
- Smells; dogs don’t like certain smells. Planting marigolds in between plants, is a good way of deterring dogs and spraying with white vinegar.
- Train your dog; one way of helping to save your garden borders, is to train your dog to prevent them from digging up your garden. Albeit potentially time consuming, this can be achieved by distracting them as they approach the area you don’t want dug up. Re-direct them to another activity, ie playing with a ball, then reward your pooch afterwards.
- Take your dog for walks regularly; burying and digging can be a sign of a bored dog. By walking your dog regularly, it helps your dog to release their energy and eliminate digging up your garden!
- Create a digging zone; dogs love to dig; by giving your dog their own area to dig, such as a large box of sand or soil, they can happily dig in the area allocated especially for them. This is more practical if your garden is large enough.
- Get a motion activated sprinkler; this will help to deter dogs digging up your borders. If your dog doesn’t like getting wet, then this is the perfect solution! Set the sprinkler motion to on, so it sets into action when your dog approaches.
And lastly, my final part on dogs which I have a strong need to mention. I have listed below, plants that will survive dog urine;
• Bears breeches
• Viburnum
• Osmanthus
• Sage
• Roses
• Ground cover plants, such as Ajuga (bugleweed)
• Creeping thyme
• Euonymus fortuneii
• Herbs, such as basil, mint and oregano
And finally, do take heed; Buxus sempervirens from my experience, does not survive from excessive
amounts of dog urine rich in nitrogen. A great alternative is Ilex crenata.