Monty Don may be a national treasure, but the real star of the small screen? Ned, his golden retriever, who first featured in Gardeners’ World in 2022.
This Spring, Monty has spoken not once but twice about how his dog is running the show.
Appearing on the Dig It podcast with hosts Zoe Ball and Jo Whiley, he admitted: ‘I often get asked, “How do you make a garden dog-friendly?” And I sort of pontificate and go out into the garden with Ned, and then he crashes through the garden and knocks something over.’
‘He’s in a complete state at the moment,’ he said. ‘My son’s dog is in season and he’s not eating, he’s not sleeping, he’s barking – he’s completely sex-starved. And of course, being Ned, he doesn’t know what to do. [It’s] not good.’
His solution was shared in an Instagram post by Gardeners’ World: ‘Ned tends to cut corners instead of following a path at a right angle, he will crash through the planting on the corner,’ said Monty. ‘Don’t plant anything precious on the corner where two paths cross!”
What else can you do to make your garden Fido friendly?
Give your lawn some love
Last year, Don designed his first garden for the Chelsea Flower Show – the RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden. Inspired by his garden at Longmeadow and his own dogs, including Ned, it featured the ultimate dog lawn, dotted with daisies, dandelions and clover to improve the lawn’s hardiness. Clover, in particular, is a dog owner’s friend, as unlike grass, it won’t turn yellow when urinated on.
Shrubs for shade
The Dog Garden featured trees like field maples and hornbeams to provide essential shade for dogs. No time to grow a tree? Larger shrubs will do the same job – try tough evergreen varieties, such as Fatsia japonica, Aucuba japonica or Viburnum that will also survive a dog diving in pursuit of a passing ball.
Where’s the water?
Monty’s Chelsea garden included a water feature, inspired by the ford on his Welsh farm in which his dogs like to cool off. Dealing with a slightly smaller plot? A shallow trough or even a sturdy paddling pool will do the same job on the hottest days of this summer.
Smell the flowers
Dogs follow their noses, so sensory areas will give them the stimulation they need (and distract them from less desirable behaviour. See: digging…) Rosemary, thyme, sage and lavender are woody and sturdy perennials that can stand up to a little rough housing.
Eyes on the prize
Did you know that dogs see yellow and blue best? So if you’re planting for Fido consider sunflowers, calendula and zinnias or cornflowers and asters.
Start when they’re small
‘I do think actually that, if you have them with you in the garden from day one, they will go where you go and do what you do, and I think there is something in that,’ he explained on the podcast. ‘Whereas, if there’s anxiety involved from the beginning and you let them out and it’s all, “I hope they don’t do this or that”, I think that transmits. But, if you potter about with them, they get used to that.’
Plus: the plants to avoid!
A surprising number of common plants are poisonous to dogs, including yew, rhododendrons, foxglove, lilies, daffodil bulbs, hydrangea and ivy. Plant them somewhere your dog can’t access independently – or avoid them altogether!
Related Stories
Comments are closed.