Finding Common Ground with Fido | Letter from the Editor

Do you remember the Pandemic Puppy phenomenon of 2020 ? A large belt of the country was under lockdown thanks to COVID-19 , and folks took in dogs allow for and right . In hindsight , this had both upsides and downsides , but adopting a rescue pup in September of that class was a bright spot for my kinsperson and me .

Bergy is a Pennsylvania Love Hound . Yes , I know that ’s not arealbreed , but she ’s a mongrel of unknown rootage so we come up with our own designation based on the location where she was abandoned and her cuddlesome disposal . When I allow acquaintance and love ones know — mostly via Zoom — that we had adopted a dog , more than a few responded with , “ Well , you could kiss your gardens good day . ” That reaction posed a serious doubtfulness : can gardens and dogs peacefully coexist ?

More than four year later , my response is unambiguously yes . Nearly all theFine Gardeningstaff are dog owner . If you were to peek at our internal DMs , you ’d be just as likely to see photograph of our pups as you would our genus Penstemon . And when we do our terminate - of - yr preparation sessions and apportion stories of garden reconnoiter from around the country , inevitably one or two of us mentions the dog that made a guest appearance during a sojourn . ( My highlighting this retiring year was with Dorothy , a giant Newfoundland from Wisconsin who courteously sat on the feet of my tripod as I took photos of her momma ’s dahlias ) .

There are sure adjustments or integrations that every nurseryman can do to make their landscape more hotdog friendly ( think of it as the equivalent weight of kid - proofing your house ) . Many of these are bright instance in the article by Jay Sifford , Designing a Beautifully Lush , Dog - favorable Garden . For instance , after we get Bergy , I find out that certain spots were best go away empty because she liked to tarry there . Anything I tried planting in that space would be overstretch out or hollow up . In other high - traffic areas , like outside our back door , I institute a super - tough ground book binding that could hold out romping . But overall , having a dog has not prevented me from have a succulent and beautiful garden .

One melioration I design to make this yr is replace a turf footpath with gravel at the back of my prop . It has become a doggie racetrack over time and always wrench into a clay pit by May . take a page from Jay Sifford ’s playbook , I ’m going to install metal edging and pea plant - stone or else , which will minimize the mess without sacrifice the aesthetic .

In short , having gardensanddogs can be a challenge . I ’m still sample to figure out how to draw rein Bergy ’s hole - apprehend proclivities for good , not evil . But a couple of trampled trillium seems like a small price to pay for categorical love .

See Issue 221 Now !

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