As spring rolls around and the weather outside becomes habitable for a fresh new garden, do you ever stop to wonder how it may affect your furry friends around you? 

This is why a lot of people have adopted the idea of “Petscaping”. The idea of petscaping is to be able to garden and have the satisfaction of growing and maintaining plants while also keeping your own animals healthy and content. When participating in petscaping you should follow some of these guidelines to create the most pet-friendly spaces.

• Choose Non-Toxic Plants.
  • African Daises
  • African Violets
  • Basil
  • Bird’s Nest Fern
  • Orchids
  • Ponytail Palm
  • Rosemary
  • Spider Plants
• Steer clear from any plants with thorns.
  • Thorns already pose a threat to humans but thorns can be much more harmful to your pets soft padded feet. If you own a rose bush or plan on growing one, plan to cage it or monitor it very well when you have your pets around it as if your pet goes head first into the bush they could end up with a major eye trauma.
• Mulch is not always the best!
  • Many gardeners will praise mulch when helping you start up your garden due to the factors that they help retain water and suppress weeds. But, what you may not know is that some mulches contain cocoa which is the same ingredient that makes chocolate toxic to your dog. What you can do instead is use wood chips in place of mulch. But, be careful because your pet may be sensitive to wood chips that may contain color dyes.
• Fertilizers and Insecticides don’t just deter insects.
  • While you may have the best garden because you don’t have your plants being chewed up by a rabbit or by some bugs, your cat or dog may still be walking through your garden getting those harsh chemicals on their coat that they lick to clean themselves. So when gardening try finding products that are pet friendly or even using alternatives such as neem oil or make your own vinegar solution.
• Compost.
  • While compost is great for your garden and not directly harmful to your pet, it can become harmful if you don’t secure your compost bin well so that your pet can’t ingest the contents. If your pet ingests the contents it can become quite dangerous.