Landscaping or Hardscaping for Dogs.
so, i am now looking for ways of tidying up the mess and keeping it mud free. i dont like the idea of slabs or concrete as its too austre and if i ever sell it would put buyers off. i have asked for quotes from artificial lawn suppliers, and i am researching how to make a grit path (read lawn). i would like low maintenance, dog proof, easy on the eye. any ideas? |
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| I used to specialize in dog landscapes and just today there was a feature by a landscape architect who is now doing same. (Did I leave a void when I retired?) Your pup probably has set pathways, play areas, digging and lounging areas. These become the major design concerns. Of course your own whims and needs must be taken in as well  . The dog raceways become paths. I mainly used crusher fines compacted. More well heeled clients opted for more expensive and artisitic paving options....often combos. Just off the raceways were low shrub planting that could withstand an off race course dog. Mulched in smaller rock. Bark is OK as well if puppers don't eat it. Beyond that was the lawn.....much reduced in size. The dog lounge areas remained and enhanced. Here the intense sunlight meant you often found the dogs snoozing on north sides or under shrubs. Trees were not in lawns, but rather protected by plantings or set off by low walls or even larger rock (cobble) mulch which dogs tend to avoid. Bitch to clean foliage from, hence a good blower mandatory. People sitting within the hard may have focal point opposite the lawn and there might be some brown spots in the grass. Ideally puppers should be trained to toilet in a private area well away from the rest of the yard, but sometimes they forget. Grass types are important. We are in the transition zone between warm and cool, so fescue is our best grass and the old pasture grass K31 is still pretty good against dog pee. Not a pretty grass, not one for barefoot. Plants, avoid oranamental grasses with awns which get caught in dogs' paws. Otherwise the O-grasses do a lot in the landscape and can be cut back in late winter and start anew. Flowers.......well, away from puppers either in planters, pots or fenced off. You might have a Basil-dog who absolutely loved naturtiums...what a gourmet. Digging areas are fun for them, sand boxes, if you don't have cats. Keep it in cool areas, use large boulders for ornamental accent.....like a small Japanese zen garden except forget raking the sand Water? Oh they love it!! Who is the pupper here who falls into the pond every so often?? I'm not saying you need a pond, but something with water is always fun in summer.....unless you are keeping long coat. Forget the endless squarefootage of lawn with a little non-lawn, think reverse. Think sitting areas beyond the house, maybe with a firebit and benches, overhead shade structure or BBQ. Dog friendly plants? Ah, depends on the dog, breed, age, etc. Terriers, forget it, you often end up with lunar surfaces. Some groundcovers will withstand napping dogs. Other dogs respect trees and don't think of them as chewtoys. Pines that drip are never good for dogs as it gets in the hair. Same with trees that attract aphids. Often it takes a bit of barrier training for awhile to keep the puppers out until the plants mature enough to live with K9s. Then there was the Newf who figured out electric wire barriers and simply dug up the posts holding the wire. |
one thing we are thinking of trying this year, as our back yard is one big mud hole, is clover. Our dog park is lovely and green despite all the dogs running and dogs peeing. And the dog park is covered in clover. I read that it only lasts about 3 years, and then has to be re-seeded. This was taken at the dog park: I think the only thing to worry about is bees. But if you mow it as it blooms, it should help a lot. As for flower beds, I put mine at the edge of the property, along fence lines, where the dogs are less likely to run. I also mix shrubs like rose bushes and butterfly bushes with smaller plants, so it creates more of a barrier. |
| unless your dog has a big fluffy tail that gets stuck on rose bushes Shane did a big time number on mine......dug them up so they wouldn't attack him anymore yeah, bees. That clover will flower close to the ground so I'm not sure that will help. But what a great picture!!  Brings back memories of Crumpet OES puppy chasing Clancy Irish Wolfhound pup thru the clover, bounce, bounce, bounce, duck down and hide, bounce, bounce. |
| Sheepieboss you sure know your stuff!! See if you kept up your business you'd be rich. I know I'd hire a dog savy landscaper over any other kind. While I didn't design the garden at this home it did catch my eye the first time I saw it. Almost like you described in your post. Gravel pathways that the dogs walk, dog friendly shrubs - I find the Spirea is left intact. The previous owner also had large railroad ties and elevated some of the flower beds. As a result it's a beautiful garden and I manage to keep it looking somewhat nice even with four dogs. i also have lots of boxwood hedges to act as barriers for the flower beds as well. The grass between my the fence and one of the large hedges is taking a beating from Merlin and Snoops daily romp. One on one side of the hedge, the other on the other side and they race up and down full speed. Ah well...it's only grass and while if I plant new stuff it won't get a chance to grow. i usually shop around on Craigs List for sod (seems everyone orders too much) and I just place it where it's needed. A quick and cheap fix. I'd love a clover lawn and may consider it if my grass dissapears. They are really rich in nitrogen and while I don't have a scientific mind I just recently read this. Clover and Legumes (beans, peas, peanuts) ...this is where is gets a bit technical something to do with what they emit ...blah blah... is the best thing in the world to fight green house gas and also attract bees which you know we really need. I know there's also some new product on the market made from recycled tires that some people are lining their walks with..worth checking out. Maybe HGTV web site? Marianne |
| I love the clover idea, as we accidentally wound up with a yard full of it for a few years, and have always wished it would come back! It was a beautiful big-headed purple variety. How can I get my hands on clover seed????  Ive never seen any for sale in any kind of bulk  The bee thing is a plus for us, as we raise bees!  |
Marianne wrote: I know there's also some new product on the market made from recycled tires that some people are lining their walks with..worth checking out. Maybe HGTV web site? I read somewhere to avoid this stuff for a couple of reasons. ONE, if your dog eats it, its still rubber and not digestible. Your dogs can get pretty darn sick. TWO, in the heat of the summer, this stuff smells like hot rubber. ICK. |
ravenmoonart wrote: I love the clover idea, as we accidentally wound up with a yard full of it for a few years, and have always wished it would come back! It was a beautiful big-headed purple variety. How can I get my hands on clover seed???? Ive never seen any for sale in any kind of bulk The bee thing is a plus for us, as we raise bees! I had seen a couple of places online to order it. Ironically, I think it was as a feed crop for cows or something. Let me do a little research and I'll get back to you! |
| I love Google! http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-a-Clover-Lawn and... http://www.outsidepride.com/seed/clover-seed/ |
| WOW thank you for the great posts, its put things in a whole new light. I love the clover idea, half of my original lawn had clover in it, (considered a poor lawn in these parts) so I know it will grow. I shall research that some more, along with pasture grasses. |
| When we moved here the previous owners had spread gravel on everything except where the so called woods were. Carl and I used a bobcat and dug up as much of the gravel as possible and spread dirt (we have a lot of sand up here), seeded it with a mixture of grass seed and white clover. We got both at our local feed mill. Since our sandy soil makes it difficult to get a thick lawn going the clover helped a great deal. If it doesn't come up we'll just over-seed the area again. It made a big difference for us. |
charlysez wrote: WOW thank you for the great posts, its put things in a whole new light. I love the clover idea, half of my original lawn had clover in it, (considered a poor lawn in these parts) so I know it will grow. I shall research that some more, along with pasture grasses. We've always had clover available around here. It is included as part of mixes of grass seeds. (The little white stuff). And the purple clover is a staple in hay mixes - it's eveywhere here in farmland!! |
ravenmoonart wrote: The bee thing is a plus for us, as we raise bees! the only reason I mention the bees in a negative light is that one of the dogs at the park was stung, and had an allergic reaction. So thats the only down side. I myself like bees, and would like to help out with giving them good environments. Also? Feel free to mail me bottles of honey! |
| Beware of that rubber mulch stuff. Dogs can eat it and it can cause a possible blockage. They use it alot around kid playgrounds - I assume the kids won't eat it I also looked into that "artificial turf" grass. It is super expensive and although they claim it has odor and bacteria reducing elements in it, I wonder what the urine smell would be with two large dogs - particularlt summer when temps are 100... I love the clover lawn idea! But around here, people pay tons of money to keep the Clover ( they call them weeds) out of the lawn. My husband is one of those dumb people  But, he does travel and is away from home alot...maybe I can get a clover lawn before he returns home one trip  |
Ashley wrote: Beware of that rubber mulch stuff. Dogs can eat it and it can cause a possible blockage. They use it alot around kid playgrounds - I assume the kids won't eat it I also looked into that "artificial turf" grass. It is super expensive and although they claim it has odor and bacteria reducing elements in it, I wonder what the urine smell would be with two large dogs - particularlt summer when temps are 100... I love the clover lawn idea! But around here, people pay tons of money to keep the Clover ( they call them weeds) out of the lawn. My husband is one of those dumb people But, he does travel and is away from home alot...maybe I can get a clover lawn before he returns home one trip RE: artificial turf . I've been around it at The Paw, where I teach classes. It's a super product. It was installed in 2008, and it still looks absolutely perfect. It's in all the outdoor playgrounds (5 of them!) and must have cost a fortune  . Tom, the owner, is very anal about it and takes very good care of it. He even bought a special snowblower (riding model with a cab) to blow snow in the winter off it. The staff is always making sure the daycare and boarded dogs dont't try to dig it or peel edges along the fencing. As far as smell - it's not an issue. It was professionally installed with proper ground prep and has a drainage system under it. Also, it has a sprinkler system, but it never really is needed. The concerns were heat (it can get really hot, and this is in full sun) and also to "rinse" it if needed. This one also has a disinfectant ability built into the sprinkler system, to really take care of stuff if needed. But, with some shade awnings in the summer and normal rainfall, it has been really low to no maintanence. And I believe Val (with Maggie and Henry) has some in her relandscaped backyard also. Last I heard it was working out well. |
Here's the back portion of my yard. Please note I didn't plant any of it as it was planted by previous owner.  To the left are the Anthony Waterer Spirea (has 3 season colors and purple flowers in the late summer) To the right is Heather (lots of bees) |
| Marianne, when I saw the first photos of your new place all I could think of was WOW, what a great racetrack for the dogs......and 2. Wow, there's alot of hedges to trim. I'm in full favor of flowering shrubs such as AW Spirea. Three seasons of color, easy care (just whack back every few years). You do have the moisture and PC days (partly cloudy). Here those poor things just fry in the sun and heat....and drought. We need tougher flowering shrubs. Of course I yearn for what we can't have like AWS and PeeGee Hydrangea....LOL! I did a friend's yard; we stuck mainly with flowering shrubs with a nice backbone of evergreens. I did the "race track"; having having (two sitting areas, walk, and bridge) the rest was crusher fines walk among the "flower beds." Her terrier was murder on the rose garden (not my idea to plant but she got the "bug." Lucy dog was just trying to eliminate gophers....... Anyway, before the flowering shrubs she wanted the yard in full bloom for her son's wedding. I can't remember how many tens of thousands of dollars (wholesale) she spent on bedding plants. It was spectacular but soured her on ever planting flowers again. Up to that point she had been a flower gardener......planting and caring for other people's flower gardens. After the wedding she quit and became a flight attendent.....thus the conversion to flowering shrubs.......less time and energy.  Legumes including clover capture nitrogen from the air and store it in nodules on their roots (there's a bit more involved of course, like a certain soil bacteria must be present or the seed innoculated) which when the plant dies is released into the soil to be used by other nitrogen requiring plants. Part of the standard farming crop rotation is to include a legume crop to replenish the soil. Yeah, I had heard the rubber mulch might be a problem and surely for hot temperature areas the stink of rubber would be unpleasant. Syn lawns vary greatly in how they are established........I'm searching for the correct word. If done correctly they have a great drainage subbase and then ground up sneaker soles are blown in between the blades keeping the blades apart and giving the lawn a nice "bounce." I have a small area I'd love to syn-lawn.......syn-sod?? I had great plans for that area but now with DH out of action, I don't think I can do it myself........oh well....... |
| Thanks for the compliment SheepieBoss. I also wanted to mention that behind the purple heathers are where the peonies are planted. As they are prone to damage by my crew they are planted behind the heathers. There were I few there and I continued to plant more. (They are not seen in the photo as they bloom in the spring but it's where the sticks are). Rhodos are planted on the back wall and the dogs love love love sitting underneath the shade back there - nice and cool on a hot summer day. (Also not in bloom in the pic) The yellow tree, I believe is Scottish Broom, and is considered to be invasive in our area so I'll eventually have to pull it and replace it with a bird friendly shrub or small tree. I stuck those fence thingies around it as I had newly planted tulip and daffs ...one thing I learned the DOGS WILL NOT DIG UNLESS THEY SEE NEWLY TURNED OVER SOIL. I have such a nice mom that planted this ground cover just for me! (or so he thinks)  Here's the inside grass circle of that path. Again, I can't take credit as the previous owner spent 40 years building on Hydro Land behind his house to create a place for his daughter to play. In 1963 Hydro sold him the land for 6,000. As you can't build on it it's considered "useless land" by the city but it's attached to my home and surrounded by one fence so kinda like having my own dog park!!! Believe it or not the owner sold it to us for the same price in 2008 - of course we had to buy his house. So you can see why I absolutely fell in love with this place as it's in the heart of the city and if it wasn't originally Hydro Land it would have been unaffordable. Regular people weren't interested as the work involved is quite extensive and Developers weren't interested as you can't build on the ajoining property...but for dogs..perfect!!!! Speaking of those hedges - that's only 1/5 of what's around the house and I solely look after them with my hand held clippers. Okay I like to boast but Panda would go crazy if he heard the electric kind. Back to the post...I think asking SheepieBoss for advice on hardy shrubs and check with your gardening center to see what grows well in your area. Happy Gardening! Marianne  |
| My first OES, Maudie used to eat red tulips, just the red ones. I didn't dare walk her in parks or around town during tulip season! She lunge at every tantelizing Red Emperor tulip she saw I have no clue if the are especially flavorable. Yeah, brooms can become pesky, especially with your rich climate. You've posted pix of pups under rhodos, what a great place to snooze! |
| Oh yeah...don't ever plant grapes if you have dogs. While I love the grape arbour and get aprox 40 boxes of grapes each year (I donate aprox 39 of them to the food bank) as grapes are dangerous for dogs. Worse if i don't pick them fast enough..they drop to the ground and tons of wasps hang around the fermented feast. Gasp! (There's another huge area almost the length of the fence where there's more but not seen in the photo). I'm highly allergic to wasp so I kinda freak out about the grapes regarding me and the dogs. Maybe i'll plant Kiwi's there instead some day as they grow well in our area. Marianne SheepieBoss your story of tulips made me chuckle as that's exactly why I stuck that fence thingie around mine..Merlin and Panda seemed to love trying to munch on a tuber..only the tulip ones not the daffs. Hope they aren't poisonous as I think they got a few mouthfuls before I noticed. |
Darth Snuggle wrote: ravenmoonart wrote: The bee thing is a plus for us, as we raise bees! the only reason I mention the bees in a negative light is that one of the dogs at the park was stung, and had an allergic reaction. So thats the only down side. I myself like bees, and would like to help out with giving them good environments. Also? Feel free to mail me bottles of honey! Last year's bees all died early, due to poor placement of the hives...they got too cold  So...no honey  This year we plan to keep them in a sunnier location, so maybe we'll actually get some...you may want to wait on the finished "product", however...Scott is planning on using the honey to make mead! |
| Our first oes ate every rose bush I had down to the ground. Why it didn't hurt I'll never know. |
Quote: Last year's bees all died early, due to poor placement of the hives...they got too cold So...no honey I'm having a hard time believing bees will survive there. Perhaps if you glue foam insulation around the supers. Also the amount of food necessary to keep them alive over winter would be extreme........You'd need a heating coil to keep the sugar water supplement from freezing. Might even have to feed them honey as well. Grapes......raspberries.......cherries........currants...what won't they eat? That's just the fruit. I know for sure Jack will eat the kiwi as it is easily eaten from my plate. Wonder if the fuzzy cover would slow him down.....probably not. What funny animals we have! |
| Tonks and Luna have not yet eaten any of my plantings; but this year will be the big test with me putting in 7 raised beds for vegetables. Wish me luck!!! |
SheepieBoss wrote: Quote: Last year's bees all died early, due to poor placement of the hives...they got too cold So...no honey I'm having a hard time believing bees will survive there. Perhaps if you glue foam insulation around the supers. Also the amount of food necessary to keep them alive over winter would be extreme........You'd need a heating coil to keep the sugar water supplement from freezing. Might even have to feed them honey as well. Grapes......raspberries.......cherries........currants...what won't they eat? That's just the fruit. I know for sure Jack will eat the kiwi as it is easily eaten from my plate. Wonder if the fuzzy cover would slow him down.....probably not. What funny animals we have! Nobody up here tries to winter them...ours died in late august! Our mistake (we think) was putting them in a too shady area, and they were forced to eat all the honey themselves to keep warm.All of our edible plants go into hanging baskets! Our dogs have cheerfully devoured berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and even (on one occasion) an entire herb garden...down to the DIRT!!! |
| Charlysez what area do you live in? I think that would help come up with ideas. In Texas clover is considered a "weed" and we get letters from our HOA that we need to weed our yards. Also we have had problems with the rubber stuff used on playgrounds getting so hot in the summer that it gets to hot for kids to play on and sometimes it starts on fire by itself, so most schools and parks are removing it. We have bermuda grass which holds up pretty well, we do have trails along the fence that the dogs like to run with dogs next door. My parents have St Augustine grass. Its very soft and thick and has held up pretty good to dogs over 40 plus years. It does take more water. |
| Clover is considered a weed here in Atlanta too. But if my choice is between a mud pit of a back yard, as our drainage is too poor to allow the grass to get a decent hold on it, or a nice green lawn of weeds, I'll take weeds any day. My home is full of silt and mud from the dogs constantly tracking it in. I love to garden, but I've never been a stickler about a weed-free lawn. In fact, one of the home we rented years ago had a lawn made up of all different grasses and weeds and wild herbs. When it was mown, it smelled heavenly, and in the spring, it would bloom all different colors of clover and wild thyme and other stuff I never did identify! Here's a photo of Luna lying in the weed-lawn from that rental.  There are violets and tiny little white star shaped flowers and clover and all sorts of pretty things growing in it! I'd kill to have that lawn back; it was drought tolerant, flood tolerant, dog tolerant... it always looked green and was often in bloom with one thing or another. |
Clover in backyard is good. HOA cant see it. We really have a pain in the butt HOA. But as long as nothing is showing over the fence, we can do what ever in our backyards.  |
| We were never sticklers for perfection in a lawn either and my theory while we were trying to get the lawn going was anything green was good, or flowers. Would love wild herbs and such here too and I don't even mind dandelions. |
| that place with the big clover selection is also offering this. But the strawberry clover in the mix isn't supposed to do well in my type of soil. Still, the rest sounds quite nice! http://www.outsidepride.com/seed/grass- ... -seed.html |
Quote: Nobody up here tries to winter them...ours died in late august! aaaah, that makes more sense. Yep, sunny side for sure. |
| Laurel - you guys aren't that much colder than us, are you?? I know in Fairbanks area it is, but I thought Anchorage /ER was more similar. People overwinter honeybees here pretty well. |
got sheep wrote: Laurel - you guys aren't that much colder than us, are you?? I know in Fairbanks area it is, but I thought Anchorage /ER was more similar. People overwinter honeybees here pretty well. I think you guys get just as cold, but not for as extended of a time. We can count on hard frosts starting in September, and you're not supposed to put out new plantings before Memorial day...yes, you read that right...Memorial day Which is why all my starts will be slowly filling up every inch of spare space in my living room, soon! I have heard of people wintering their bees here, but ONLY if they have a heated garage, or something similar. We do have some species of native bees, but I have NO idea how those guys make it through! The stupid WASPS survive by building nests in our roof, damn them! |
ravenmoonart wrote: got sheep wrote: Laurel - you guys aren't that much colder than us, are you?? I know in Fairbanks area it is, but I thought Anchorage /ER was more similar. People overwinter honeybees here pretty well. I think you guys get just as cold, but not for as extended of a time. We can count on hard frosts starting in September, and you're not supposed to put out new plantings before Memorial day...yes, you read that right...Memorial day Which is why all my starts will be slowly filling up every inch of spare space in my living room, soon! I have heard of people wintering their bees here, but ONLY if they have a heated garage, or something similar. We do have some species of native bees, but I have NO idea how those guys make it through! The stupid WASPS survive by building nests in our roof, damn them! Hmm, we are a bit shorter, but not that much. Hard frosts are about a month later here in So MN, and planting is usually safe in the beginning of May to mid May. So maybe 6 weeks difference. But, I have friends with bees in Duluth - and they are way colder all summer as well as a mostly equal to you beginning and end to the really cold stuff. Maybe I should find out what their secrets are.... |
got sheep wrote: ravenmoonart wrote: got sheep wrote: Laurel - you guys aren't that much colder than us, are you?? I know in Fairbanks area it is, but I thought Anchorage /ER was more similar. People overwinter honeybees here pretty well. I think you guys get just as cold, but not for as extended of a time. We can count on hard frosts starting in September, and you're not supposed to put out new plantings before Memorial day...yes, you read that right...Memorial day Which is why all my starts will be slowly filling up every inch of spare space in my living room, soon! I have heard of people wintering their bees here, but ONLY if they have a heated garage, or something similar. We do have some species of native bees, but I have NO idea how those guys make it through! The stupid WASPS survive by building nests in our roof, damn them! Hmm, we are a bit shorter, but not that much. Hard frosts are about a month later here in So MN, and planting is usually safe in the beginning of May to mid May. So maybe 6 weeks difference. But, I have friends with bees in Duluth - and they are way colder all summer as well as a mostly equal to you beginning and end to the really cold stuff. Maybe I should find out what their secrets are.... Please do!  We go to classes, and club meetings for beekeepers here...but it seems almost more like an art than a science! There's a lot to learn. |
| Melissa and Alex are my bee friends in Duluth. They are also volunteers with our Basset Rescue, in fact they also did the tranport from the UP of my last OES foster boy Otis. I'll send them an email and see what they recommend. They also have done a lot of research into this, and are techie as well - both are computer programmers at the U of M - Duluth. They do all their own home improvements, make soap and great soups and breads, make cold frames for their gardens and LOVE their bees! |
| And I got some info back from Alex and Melissa! I'm going to start a new "Bee" thread under general chit chat. Maybe some day it will become as famous as our pregnancy after tubal thread.....  |
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