Dogproofing Our Back Yard, Question For Gardeners

[Guest LydzKyd]

We hope to be adopting our first greyhound soon. We have a small, urban fenced in yard with no grass, small amount of brick paving and a lot of dirt. We are trying to create a safe environment for our new family member.

 

CALLING ALL GARDENERS!

 

QUESTION:

What can we safely plant as ground cover on our very shaded (about 95%) dirt patch we call a back yard? Safe = not toxic to dogs

 

NO GRASS

My husband does not want to plant grass.

 

DIGGING UP BULBS

Soon I will be digging up my tulip and daffodil bulbs because I know they are toxic to dogs.

 

AZALEAS AND HOLLY

I am hoping to keep my azaleas and holly bush, but they are also toxic and will get rid of them if people think the greys will eat them. Thoughts?

 

OTHER PERENNIAL PLANTS

We have 3 trees in the back yard, the biggest is the kwanzan cherry tree, as well as another inedible fruit bearing tree and a peach tree. We also have quite a collection of hostas, some strawberry plants and a lot of weeds.

 

Any suggestions as to what would be safe to plant in our patch of dirt would be greatly appreciated. It just doesn't look nice to see raw earth.

 

We live in Zone 5. (Pittsburgh, PA)

 

Here's a picture of the back yard in springtime:

I have notes on the picture in Flickr of what is in the yard.

 

Thank you to previous posters who provided links for toxic plants. They were most helpful.

 

Thanks,

Lydia

 

[ahicks51]

How about planting... sand?

 

Or gravel. Gravel works, too. Or tire mulch.

[Guest LydzKyd]

How about planting... sand?

 

Or gravel. Gravel works, too. Or tire mulch.

 

My nephew and niece would love a giant sandbox! Not so much on gravel or tire mulch.

[Batmom]

I am letting the ground ivy take over the shaded parts of my back yard. It's a weed, it's pretty, it works. I also have some tiarella (foamflower), hostas, a couple ferns, heuchera (coral bells), sedum, galium odoratum (sweet woodruff), wild sweet violets, aegopodium (variegated goutweed), creeping charlie (lysimachia nummularia?), and carex flacca (gray sedge). There is a wild, weedy strawberry with inedible berries that grows well in shade; if you want to plant some, try "Pink Panda." I had some epimediums, too, but Joseph kept peeing on one and it grew unhappy; I moved it up front. Also had some lamiastrum -- clump forming -- but it got taller than I wanted so I moved it up front, too.

 

For grasslike stuff, the carex flacca is great. It gets @ 10" tall, kinda slow to do anything the first year but then will spread moderately well. It makes clumps. Almost evergreen here in zone 4.

 

ETA: I don't think the tulip bulbs, azaleas and holly are *that* poisonous. Unless you really had a muncher/digger, you might not have to worry about those.

[Guest LydzKyd]

ETA: I don't think the tulip bulbs, azaleas and holly are *that* poisonous. Unless you really had a muncher/digger, you might not have to worry about those.

 

Thanks Batmom. I took a look at your photo gallery and saw some pictures of your back yard. It looks like your dogs have a greyt time back there.

 

I'd love to keep my bulbs, et al. Maybe I'll just see what kind of dog I get.

 

Thanks again for your detailed reply. It really helps.

[Guest ejw]

Your garden is gorgeous!

 

I once asked a nursery owner why she didn't label plants as poisonous. Her reply was that poisonous plants taste so awful that neither man nor beast would eat enough to make themselves really sick -- maybe numb their tongue. She was not concerned about kids or pets at all. Not sure I really believed her.... but I have had poisonous plants like monskhood, foxglove, rhubarb and lily of the valley (NOT recommended!) and the dogs never touched them.

 

The ones I've learned to avoid are "regular" irises. My dogs lay on the irises, which eventually finishes them off. I caught Tansi eating the the Siberian iris after I mowed the lawn!

 

Daylilies are edible and my girls have eaten the flowers. They will self-serve from yellow and red raspberry bushes. They leave these bushes alone: azalea, hydrangea, lilac, ninebark, roses, butterfly bush, lily of the valley bush (NOT the plant --this invasive plant is poisonous, including any water you put flowers in), barberry, juniper, cedar, rose of sharon, forsythia, saskatoons, nanking cherry,. They also leave vines alone: Englemann ivy, honeysuckle, silver lace, mandevilla, bougainvilla, ivy. They ignore the holly at DS's and my hostas. They also leave any fallen fruit alone: apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches but I know some greys eat fruit, so might not be safe for your hound?

 

Anything along the fence line died due to patrolling the fence and packing the dirt.

 

The dog area is covered in a sandy sort of fine gravel (Crusher mulch or road dust, it's called) with bushes and trees scattered about. I want to add planters and some pavers for interest.

 

I've come to the conclusion there isn't a ground cover strong enough to survive take-off when greys run. My "lawn" in the dog area is fine crushed gravel mixed with sand. When it goes flying I rake it back, it's a lot easier to poop scoop, and it doesn't look awful. I've tried grass, thyme, mosses, vinca etc. The best was cat mint -- another highly invasive plant. My dogs defeated them all.

 

I'm not sure I'd worry about tulip bulbs either. Squirrels dig them up and eat them, so they can't be that bad!

 

Hope this helps some! I'm from a much more northern clime, so my experiences are limited.

[Guest spider9174]

i actually have some lillies in the back yard. i don't have any pups that have bothered them. the bunnies like them, so i spray a mix of tabasco and water on them. they don't like that taste, this woks for dogs too.

 

as for my garden...i have tomatoes and cucumbers. I fenced it to keep the bunnies and dog out. there is nothing worse than harvesting a cucumber that was obviously half eaten..thanks Gable. He LOVES them! right off the vine. You don't really want them grazing on tomato leaves either. So they are in the middle of the garden.

[Hawthorn]

We used to have holly bushes in our garden but we cut them down because the leaves are so sharp when they fall off that we were worried the dogs would prick their pads. The dogs didn't show any interest in eating them though.

 

 

[Guest trevdog]

It depends on the dog, my Ossie doesn't touch a thing. Dallas on the other hand nibbles lots of stuff. We have doggie "herbs" that are safe just for her enjoyment around the pool area. Not that it helps with your groundcover, but I'd wait and see what kind of personality you end up with first except for the most toxic plants.

[greysmom]

There isn't a plant based ground cover - even ivy - that can stand up to running dogs. My neighbor (who also has 4 greys) uses the smallest grade of bark mulch, I just have dirt!

 

As far as plants go, some dogs eat them and some don't, though I have noticed that if it looks like grass it'll get eaten, even if it daylillies (which aren't poisoness), bamboo, or those tough sedge grasses. One of mine cut her tongue on one of those so I don't even plant it where they can get it. I also don't have any plants whose leaves are poke-y either on the bush or after they fall. I have 7 huge douglas firs and the pine cones are enough to deal with.

 

Hostas and ferns are good though my 3 will also eat them (not poisoness). And if you put in pots or planters you have to either get the REALLY high or put fencing in them to keep little mouths out!

 

I basically don't worry overmuch about the back yard and lavish all my garden energy on the front!

 

greysmom

[Batmom]

Here is ground ivy: http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/hort/homehort/wgrndivy.php

 

Since it roots along the stems, it's pretty tough, even for running dogs.

 

A weed, but a very useful one.

[Shaysmom]

It really depends on the kind of dog you get. Seamus doesn't eat anything, but he does like to pee on just about everything!

 

(And he likes to lay on things too!) linky

[Guest LydzKyd]

Here is ground ivy: http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/hort/homehort/wgrndivy.php

 

Since it roots along the stems, it's pretty tough, even for running dogs.

 

A weed, but a very useful one.

 

We love weeds in our family. Support biodiversity. I'll have to see where I can find some and plant it.

 

Thanks for the link.

[Guest LydzKyd]

I basically don't worry overmuch about the back yard and lavish all my garden energy on the front!

 

greysmom

 

Nothing pokey - check. Splurge on the front of the house - check!

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

It really depends on the kind of dog you get. Seamus doesn't eat anything, but he does like to pee on just about everything!

 

(And he likes to lay on things too!) linky

 

Too funny... so try to find pillow plants. Will do.

 

We have doggie "herbs" that are safe just for her enjoyment around the pool area.

 

 

Doggie herbs? That sounds interesting. What would they be?

 

We used to have holly bushes in our garden but we cut them down because the leaves are so sharp when they fall off that we were worried the dogs would prick their pads. The dogs didn't show any interest in eating them though.

 

We'll keep an eye out for the effect of the holly on the pads. I wouldn't imagine dogs wanting to eat such prickly things as holly leaves.

 

the bunnies like them, so i spray a mix of tabasco and water on them. they don't like that taste, this woks for dogs too.

 

I'll have to remember the Tabasco trick if the dog shows interest in anything. Thanks for the greyt tip.

 

Your garden is gorgeous!

 

I once asked a nursery owner why she didn't label plants as poisonous. Her reply was that poisonous plants taste so awful that neither man nor beast would eat enough to make themselves really sick -- maybe numb their tongue. She was not concerned about kids or pets at all. Not sure I really believed her.... but I have had poisonous plants like monskhood, foxglove, rhubarb and lily of the valley (NOT recommended!) and the dogs never touched them.

 

The ones I've learned to avoid are "regular" irises. My dogs lay on the irises, which eventually finishes them off. I caught Tansi eating the the Siberian iris after I mowed the lawn!

 

Anything along the fence line died due to patrolling the fence and packing the dirt.

 

The dog area is covered in a sandy sort of fine gravel (Crusher mulch or road dust, it's called) with bushes and trees scattered about. I want to add planters and some pavers for interest.

 

 

I'm not sure I'd worry about tulip bulbs either. Squirrels dig them up and eat them, so they can't be that bad!

 

Hope this helps some! I'm from a much more northern clime, so my experiences are limited.

 

Thanks for the really interesting info. BC is a beautiful province with lots of flora. A lot of what you said makes sense.

[PatricksMom]

If at all possible, I'd wait and see how your dog does before you redo your whole yard. Patrick has zero interest in eating plants, except crap grass, which he carefully picks out. Bulbs, bushes, flowers, veggies, he doesn't touch. Now our yard is small, so the grass takes a horrible beating (and I really can't imagine a ground cover in the world that would hold up to him.)

 

The problem I have had is with him trampling in the garden, so I bought some of that 2 foot high stick in the ground fencing for the veggie garden--for some reason he pretty much stays out of the flower beds on his own.

 

I do avoid using any chemicals in the yard, safer for him, my bunnies, and us.

[Guest LydzKyd]

If at all possible, I'd wait and see how your dog does before you redo your whole yard.

 

I do avoid using any chemicals in the yard, safer for him, my bunnies, and us.

 

That is a good suggestion to wait. We have enough to do in the mean time!

 

I'm pro-natural approach to gardening. I agree that it is safer for all.

 

Thanks for the reassurance.

[Guest trevdog]

Basically for doggie "herbs" they are for humans. I just went through the safe for dogs list and picked out a few to plant, wandering thyme for example. You can use them to cook with, but I really don't. We did it to give Dallas something to nibble on instead of the not so good stuff. Not saying we have anything toxic, but it interests her more than the stuff that can cause tummy upset if eaten too much. And also it seems to reduce the amount of grass grazing she does. Plus it looks nice to have the little clumps of vines trailing around and she keeps them pruned pretty well! We also don't use chemicals or anything on the grass, both for their safety and ours.