If you love your dog and your garden, you might be amazing if the two can coincide harmoniously. Cleaned up flowerbeds and yellowed lawns, there's no doubt that dogs and gardens aren't always a match made in heaven. That's the bad news! The great news is with a bit of planning, you can create a garden that both you and your dog will love. Here are our 9 tips for a dog-friendly garden.

1. Fencing

If you have a dog, your pet-friendly garden requires a solid fence. Four feet (1.2 metres) is high enough, but for some athletic dogs, fences will want to be five or six feet (1.5-1.8 metres) high. Gaps can be problematic, as curious dogs can wedge their heads between boards.

2. Paths

Like people, dogs and cats make a straightaway to where they want to go. If your dog wears a dirt trail into the garden, install a permanent path with pavers or stepping-stones. In small gardens, playful dogs can simply disturb paths of cedar mulch or pea gravel, so paths of brick or stone are easier to maintain.

3. Plants

When adding new plantings, larger-sized trees and shrubs and perennials are more likely to earn dog respect than little sticks that look like chew toys. If you have sensitive plants or planting area just getting established, try a temporary chicken wire enclosure to keep a dog out.

4. Mass planting

Massing shrubs or ornamental grasses can help keep dogs on the straight and narrow. Maximum will go around rather than through such plantings. Grasses are especially tough plants that are unlikely to be injured by the most rambunctious of dogs.

5. Mulch

Try to use inorganic mulch such as potato stones or pea gravel where appropriate. If you’re trying to get a new area of lawn to grow, sod is quicker to establish than seed, especially with dogs using the yard.

6. Vegetable gardens

If you’ve planted vegetable seeds into the ground, keep the seedbed moist, as dog prefers to dig in dry, loose soil. Use straw mulch to cover the soil in between rows of vegetables or individual plants like tomatoes. A permanent enclosure, such as an attractive picket fence is a good idea for a herb or vegetable garden where you don’t want any dog toilet activities to occur. Or you could try growing vegetables in containers.

7. Soil

Try to avoid having bare soil – it’s a perfect invitation to dogs to dig. Plant perennials close together and select tough pet-friendly plants.

8. Keep the lawn

Lawnless gardens are growing in popularity but think before you do away with the green. A lawn area provides an excellent spot for your dog to run and play. They'll get plenty of exercises to help them stay fit, and burn off some excess energy too.

9. Store tools securely 

Garden tools can be a health risk for dogs. From wooden splinters to cuts or contracting tetanus from getting cut by equipment with a metal edge, a discarded tool can be unsafe for your pet.

Following these above tips will turn your garden into a space you and your doggie friend will love.

Author Bio

Sara Sugden is a content writer in invision landscape, leading landscaping Sydney. Sara is exclusive in guest blogging, blog publishing and social media campaigns. She specializes in topics like gardening, landscaping, and lawn care.