Dog proof plants

blackcob

blackcob

🖖
Joined
20 March 2007
Messages
12,947
Location
Shropshire
Visit site
Can anybody recommend some hardy, inexpensive shrubs that will survive an occasional dog pee sprinkling please? I need to fill a corner bed approx 1.5m long by 1m deep.

After 5 years of dog ownership we finally have a garden - the ungrateful sods have a quick mooch and then put themselves back in the house. *eyeroll*
 
My small back garden is dedicated to the dogs...it has no flowering plants as the bees prove too much of a temptation...soooo Weve planted borders with lively hardy shrubs,and climbers...

I've planted shrubs with pretty foliage and most are evergreen...pomegranate,flowering ornamental Apple,euonymus,jasmine,weileiga,three colours of climbing ivy for fence cover,hollies of three varieties..hibiscus to name a few.My herbs have been fenced off this year to stop the dog peeing on them and we've raised the basil into planterso we can enjoy it this year...

For your small bed. I'd suggest lavender and euonymus...maybe hebe if it's shadow, and blue cotoneaster are very pretty..also roses?
The lawn was taken up years ago and replaced with pale pink tiles...easy hose .
down...
My front garden is full of the pretty flowering perennials,roses ,lavender and other more delicate plants and the dogs go there under close supervision..
 
Last edited:
Thankfully the set-up is relatively dog proof to begin with which has been a help. :) There's a decent sized patio area over two levels, made of quite nice slate-y type slabs, then a low wall to a small lawn and a path leading to the rear gate. Beyond the gate there's a large, raised and walled area of hard standing for the shed (screened from the road with evil leylandii) and steps leading down to a driveway.

The dogs only have access to the patio/lawn areas and there's otherwise just the one corner bed by the path that is currently bare/weed filled that needs blocking off with something robust before they decide to use it as a digging area. The only other plant in this section is a huge pyracantha that had gone a bit unruly and was blocking the gate. Great for keeping out trespassers but slightly annoying! It took me nearly two hours to prune and is now a topiary style cube on bare stems.

I can have prettier things in pots by the back wall and parking area, thinking lots of trailing things to grow down over the wall - indeed there's a hollow corner of about 1m x 2m currently filled with brambles and rubble that I am clearing out for this purpose.

I had considered lavender at the front along the path but thought it might attract too many low-flying bees?
 
A Buddlia is good, I prune mine back hard every March to stop it getting too tall and it has very woody stems that stand up to dogs cocking their legs. Its showy too, but it does attract Butterflies and Bees but because it makes substantial growth the flowers are out of reach for the dogs.
 
It's taken four hours to weed, dig over and mulch the beds - my back is going to hate me tomorrow. :o

I have installed a buddleia on the basis that it's hardy and once established I can prune the lower stems to avoid Ricoh eating stray bees...! I also got a ruck of lavender plants for £1 each because they'd been left on a low shelf in B&Q and had gone all sad and straggly, ditto some sad delphiniums, these may or may not survive the dogs but worth a punt at £1. I'd love to fill it with cottage garden type plants but they're all so soft-stemmed and wimpy.

Investigating ground cover now before the weeds set back in, cotoneaster etc...
 
Clematis montana makes for tough groundcover or if you'd like some Rubus tricolour I can send you some if you message me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top