Pet Friendly Gardening
Pets have a great way of bringing a smile to our faces when we’ve had a rough day or make us laugh just when we need it the most. So naturally when gardening, we should make sure we keep our fur babies in mind. Here are a few petscaping ideas to help keep your pets safe and healthy when designing, planting or maintaining your garden.
Design
It’s good to start with a plan. When brainstorming on your garden plan, think of creating open, safe spaces for your pets to run and play. Rocks or faux grass will retain the heat from the sun and can hurt or crack your pet’s paws. Florida friendly grasses and mulch are some of the best ground cover options for your fur babies. When selecting a mulch, check out the texture and shape. You want to choose mulch that doesn’t get stuck in the paws or coats of your animals and brought back inside for you to clean.
We love our pets, but let’s face it - they can sometimes be very destructive to our gardens. Designing low borders or raised beds will help guide pets where you want them to go. But, I’ve also learned that some pets can’t be tamed, even with several rounds of obedience school! Have an unruly pet? Planting hardy perennials or shrubs in a dense area can help shield your more delicate plants.
Plant Selection
Don’t rely on the plant label provided by the garden center - do your research. Just last week, I was in a well known local Florida nursery where a Sago Palms was labeled as an inside plant with no mention of their toxicity to animals. Yikes!
There are several plants commonly used throughout Florida garden landscapes that can cause pets and people to become seriously ill or even die. A few of these toxic plants are even native. Below is a list of plants that can be toxic to pets or humans if any part of the plant is consumed:
Angel’s Trumpet
Arrowhead
Caladium
Chinaberry Tree
Coral Bean (native)
Castor Bean
Dieffenbachia
Flowering Tobacco
Lantana
Lily
Milkweed
Mistletoe
Oleander
Pothos
Philodendron
Peace Lily
Red Buckeye Tree
Sago Palm
Snake Plant
Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow
Maintenance
Composting is a fantastic way to add organic matter to improve the soil content and food web of your garden. Keep pets away from your compost area. Pets can become sick if they consume old vegetable or other random decaying compost items.
Mowing your lawn once a week sounds like a lot of work but it is good habit to create for many reasons. By cutting your grass weekly, you minimize the weed and tick populations. Plus, it’s not as much work when you keep your grass under control!
If you must (and I emphasis the word MUST) use chemical fertilizers or pesticides, make sure the chemicals you use are pet friendly. The label on the packaging should clearly state if the chemicals can be distributed around your pets. Pets are smaller and more susceptible to exposure to chemicals, so don’t think a little bit won’t impact your fur babies. Not sure if a fertilizer or pesticide in your garage is be toxic to your pets? Read the label and dispose of through the correct channels or method to ensure you don’t expose your pets or the natural wildlife to the chemicals.
All of these ideas don’t have to be implemented at once. Think about taking baby steps, especially when taking into consideration the design of your garden. The most vital point to focus on from this Petscaping overview is your pet’s exposure to toxic materials. I personally have a few Angel’s Trumpets and Crotons in my yard, but my cats don’t go outside. Every garden and household situation is different - do what’s best for you and your fur babies!