garden notes: designing For kids and Pets

by lIsa Cullen

Is it possible for a garden to be beautiful and kid- and dog-friendly? Or are gardens, kids, and dogs mutually exclusive? Images of flying soccer balls, crushed plants, and dog bones buried under prize roses come to mind . Don’t stress over your trampled topiary; instead design a garden that includes everyone . With some careful planning, a few compromises, and reasonable expectations, it can be done .

You already know what your kids like to do, so incorporate this into the design . Of course, the size of your property does have some bearing on what’s possible, but even small gardens can become kid-friendly spaces . It can be as simple as a spot amid the trees turned into a secret hiding place or creating a meandering mulch pathway through the garden where they can run through the garden with wild abandon . Mulch paths are better for kids because a deeply mulched path is soft, so they won’t hurt themselves when they inevitably take a tumble . There could be more obvious constructed elements, such as a swing or a treehouse, but it doesn’t have to be .

If there’s room and the kids play soccer or other sports, a lawn could be on the agenda . If the family likes golf, there could be a pitch-and-putt green . We installed a zip line in one backyard and hid the mounting platforms within a cluster of trees . Once we even designed a garden for a woman whose granddaughter loved to pretend she was in a steeplechase (no real horse involved) so we created a course complete with logs to jump over and other fun stuff .

Then there was the family who liked to play bocce ball . However, a standard court wasn’t feasible, so we created a “cross-country” bocce ball court that meandered through the entire back yard, complete with banked turns . It was lined with plants that can withstand the abuse of repeated bocce balls, and the entire family plays bocce out there every night . Have some fun and get creative . Anything goes . We have lots more examples; if you need inspiration, email me!

If your children are very young, they’re likely to put leaves and flowers in their mouths, so you’d better stay away from toxic plants . I like to use soft, edible plants when a family has small children . If you must have a rose garden, place it away from where the kids play . In one case I planted an entire garden full of stuff the kids could eat: culinary herbs, blueberries, passion fruit, alpine strawberries, and fruit trees . This was a garden the kids could munch their way through .

If you have dogs and kids, they may run, trample, dig, and eat the plants in your garden . Fortunately, there are lots of plants that can take the abuse and still thrive in Santa Barbara . Mexican sage, Falkia, Nepeta, Teucrium, lavender, rosemary, Santa Barbara daisy, Shasta daisy, boxwood, Pittosporum tobira, geraniums, mint, potato vine, and Mexican marigold are sturdy and beautiful .

In my experience kids love to pick flowers . As they should! A garden full of repeat bloomers such as ivy geranium, Mexican marigold, lavender, sages, scented geranium, violets, hibiscus, fruits, and roses continue to produce flowers all year round and are safe for kids .

Unfortunately, some very popular “designer” plants are extremely toxic to kids, dogs, and adults alike . Euphorbia is particularly nasty and poisonous . There are several cultivars you may be familiar with: “sticks on fire,” “pencil cactus,” “crown of thorns,” to name a few . ALL Euphorbia are toxic to humans and animals . You don’t have to ingest Euphorbia for it to cause a trip to the emergency room . The sap can cause burning of the skin and swelling in humans and animals . The ASPA recommends avoiding ALL Euphorbia species if you have pets, and the same is true if there are kids . Don’t use spiny plants for obvious reasons and stay away from poisonous ones like oleander and lantana, which are toxic if ingested .

Securing your garden to keep pets from wandering is very important . You don’t want an adventurous pup to squeeze through a hole in the gate or fence . Dogs are bred with certain traits, digging, herding, guarding, etc . so just because you have a new garden, don’t expect them to change, because they won’t . Before you landscape, be aware of your dogs’ habits . They will have a route they take through the garden; they have a favorite place to cool off or to rest . If you know where they like to dig or hang out or run, plan your garden with this in mind . You dogs won’t find a new route or hiding place just because you relandscaped so design around them .

Pro tip: If you have dogs, plant lots of lavender, Mexican marigold, Cleveland sage, white sage, rosemary, mint, catmint, oregano, marjoram, lemon balm and lemon grass . All these plants contain oils that naturally repel fleas . Encourage your dogs to romp in these plants to help keep fleas at bay . Plus, these plants thrive despite abuse and are safe for kids and adults .

Set reasonable expectations . You kids won’t always be young, and your dogs will hopefully get into a routine . A garden is to be loved and enjoyed and if a few plants get ruined because of some rambunctious play time, oh well . We design gardens to be lived in and life is sometimes messy! Rejoice in the mess and adjust expectations to suit your family’s needs . Once the kids are gone, off making lives of their own, you’ll likely miss the chaos . So, enjoy it while you have them .

Lisa Cullen, landscape designer and organic gardener, owns Montecito Landscape with her husband, Chris. She can be reached at 805.969.3984 or www. montecitolandscape.com Open to the Public Tuesday-Sunday 9am-4pm/Closed Mondays 5320 Overpass Road, Santa Barbara CA 93111 (805) 964-7811

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