DIY Network

The Gilberts: Their Plan, Costs and Products From "Garden Sense" episode DGAR-106

Meet the Gilbert Family. Chris and Kyra Gilbert have two boys, Brandon, 13, and Trevor, 8. They currently have three golden retrievers named Sam, Karley and Teddy. They live in a newer home with a short, wide back yard and a fenced-in vegetable garden?

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Kyra is a teacher and like to can vegetables in the summer.
Chris works for an insurance company.
Brandon and Trevor are active in the Boy Scouts.
The Gilberts' home is a designated golden retriever foster home that is part of a national organization called "Golden Retriever Rescue and Adoption of Needy Dogs". They never know when a new dog will be placed with them.
The family enjoys yard work and loves to garden, weed and grow vegetables.

Gardening Challenge

Here is the challenge our Garden Sense expert and the Gilberts faced with this project.

• The Gilbert family replaced their previous privacy fence with a split-rail fence but feel they still need some sort of privacy
  
• They need to create a dog-friendly, kid-friendly relaxing yard that offers privacy but does not look like they live a recluse life in suburbia.
  
• They want to know what plants NOT to plant that would harm their children or dogs.
  
• They need to create a special place for the dogs that love to roll around in the dirt.

Project Overview

Before

After

• We used extra caution in choosing plants for the Gilberts' yard. We had to pick varieties that would not harm the dogs in anyway, but we also wanted plants that were somewhat durable.
  
• Trees look great in most yards, but in this one, we decided to stay away from them. We didn't want the dogs to eat any of the berries that fall from the tree.
  
• We decided to use plants to keep the dogs away from the A/C unit. The homeowners wanted to avoid a prickly plant like barberry, so we used Weigela.
  
• For color in the yard, we had to be extremely careful when choosing our flowers. Many can be harmful to dogs. Among the varieties to avoid:
  
  • Tulips and amaryllis, which can cause severe digestive upset;
    
  • Foxglove which are highly toxic;
    
  • Hyacinth which cause severe digestive upset and tremors;
    
  • Daffodils, which can also cause severe upset, tremors and seizures.
    
  • SEE WEB EXTRA PROMISE for a list of common poisonous plants.

• Some attractive, vigorous plants include peony, creeping phlox, verbena, coneflower, black-eyed susans, Shasta daisy, Liriope, Russian sage, Mexican primrose. Other plants that resist breakage include serviceberry, ninebark, mock orange, dogwood, lilac, pine, butterfly bush and quince.
  
• The type of mulch is important when you're designing a garden around pets. Only certain types of mulches are really considered safe for dogs. One good choice is cedar bark. Bad choices are coconut husks, stones with sharp points, and dyed mulch.
  
• Cacao hulls are also bad. They can make a dog sick with chocolate toxicity; however, if you have your heart set on cacao hulls, you can spread the mulch, and then water it really well. Once you wash away the chocolate smell of the hulls, your dog will be safe.

Gardening by Zip Code If you're looking to start a gardening projectbut don't know your gardening zone—visit the National Gardening Associations's USDA Hardiness Zone Finder. Enter your Zip Code to identify the proper zone.

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