A garden is a sanctuary for not only us, but for our special friends who make it their home.
Greetings fellow gardeners,
It has been a difficult week. I am finding that thinking about the gardens and planning my seed plantings has helped me to feel better. Once again, the garden fulfills physical and mental and spiritual needs.
My dear dog Belle passed away this week. She was fifteen years old. I slept on the couch beside her at night and we made sure she was never alone. She knew she was loved, and she knew she was a good dog. I am so glad that I was with her at the end.
Belle
Having a dog in your garden is a special balancing act. Some dogs dig. Some dogs run about in a certain way and make a muddy path and of course they all need to go to the bathroom. I loved having a dog in the garden. I would take time to talk to my dog or perhaps throw a ball or a stick. That got my body moving in a different way and helped to work out aches and pains. I find that having a dog in the garden brings up that mantra of ‘work your garden where it is instead of trying to change it.’
If your dog is making a path, work with it. My dog made a path that deepened over the years as she ran from one side of the house to the other. I added some mulch to the path, and it actually looks like I planned it! If I want to rid myself of this path, I will need to add soil and grass seed, but I think I will keep it.
Often dogs will dig a hole in the garden and use it as a dirt bath or a cool place to nap in the summer heat. If you attempt to fill in this hole you will find your doggie is just going to dig it up again. So, work with it. The hole is now shaped how your dog likes it so there will be less digging. You can add taller perennials around it and to the side so that it will become a special little spot just for your dog. It can look quite attractive with a few plants and some specially placed stones at the sides.
In the spring you will find so much poo! It needs to be picked up and removed. Remember that this does not go into the compost. I use biodegradable bags and place it in the green bin. If you have a female dog, you may find that their urine is more concentrated, and it will burn your grass or plants. If possible, spray the area where your dog has peed with water, as soon as possible. This will dilute the urine making it less likely to burn.
This weekend I am going to organize my seeds and figure out how many tomatoes I need to plant. I will go through starting tomatoes in the next Veggie Bites and make sure the plant compound has its netting in order. The too-many cats are still curious about the plants. They miss Belle. She was very patient with them and as a Border Collie she was always trying to put them in a group. As the too-many cats rubbed against her or chased her tail she would heave a heavy sigh and look at me in exasperation. I am going to miss that.
Judith
(Email: sghorticultural@gmail.com)
Veggie Bites are available at https://sghorticultural.wixsite.com/website or https://gardeningcalendar.ca/articles/veggie-bites/
Belle helping me in the garden