Gus, right, and Max head to the job site

Two of our Ecoyards members have a crazy knack for chewing stuff up — sticks, nursery pots, you name it. One day I came home to find these hellions (culprits pictured at right) had chewed up a lovely indoor fig tree. What if it had been toxic? It got me thinking about what’s in my garden that my dog, if he was good, should avoid.

Here are some poisonous plants for your dogs to avoid, says Cornell University Animal Sciences. The ASPCA also keeps a list of plants toxic to pets. Some like elephant ears and tulips may cause vomiting or excessive drooling. Others like oleander could be deadly. Lest I freak you out, in some cases there may be little risk because your dog may not prefer that plant or chew on/ingest enough to cause severe problems. If that does happen, the ASPCA has a 24-hour Animal Poison Control Center, 888-426-4435.

I’ve listed some toxic plants that are common in Northwest, but you should browse the Cornell database or ASPCA list for more in-depth information.

Plants toxic to dogs and other pets:

Flowering plants: hyacinth, narcissus, daffodil, bleeding heart, foxglove, iris, lily of the valley, autumn crocus.

Vegetables: rhubarb.

Ornamentals: azaleas, daphne, jasmine, laurels, wisteria, yew.

Trees and shrubs: black locust, elderberry, bitter cherry.

Winter can be a grey and dreary one in the Northwest, but not if you have plants that provide year-round interest. Some of our favorite plants, such as daphne and sarcococca, put on their best show during this time.

If you’re looking for suggestions or just want to see these winter plants in action, head to the Washington Park Arboretum to see what’s blooming this time of year. The J.A. Witt Winter Garden is filled with witch hazel, hellebores, mahonia and sarcococca that peak in the winter months. Click here for a map and list of plants (PDF). From January through March, you can enjoy dogwood, rhododendron, flowering cherry, camelia, forsythia, heather and many other plants.

If you’ve ever been overwhelmed by all the choices at a nursey, the folks over at Great Plant Picks have made the decision-making process easy. Every year, the staff gets together and comes up with a list of great plant picks.

We at Ecoyards rely on their picks because they weed out fussy perennials, trees, and shrubs that require a lot of water and lots of maintenance.

The Great Plant Picks staff chooses only plants that are hardy to the Seattle area (USDA Zones 7 and 8). The plants are vigorous, easy to grow by the average gardener, and mostly drought-tolerant and disease-resistant.

Check out their booth at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show Feb. 18-22 at the Washington State Convention Center. They usually provide free posters with pictures of their picks for each year.

One of our favorite plants from the list is the flowering currant, a native deciduous shrub that is a magnet for hummingbirds. This plant tolerates poor soil, is drought-tolerant once established, and requires little maintenance or pruning.

Link to Industry News

From U.S. EPA Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program

The National Lawns and Environment Initiative began in 2002 with the goal of encouraging environmentally-responsible lawn and landscaping practices in residential landscape design and maintenance. The U.S. EPA is a member of the steering committee, along with USDA, the Center for Resource Management, the San Antonio Water System, the National Gardening Association, the University of Florida, Audubon International, Professional Landcare Network, and Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

In 2005 the Initiative produced the Environmental Guidelines for Responsible Lawn Care and Landscaping (28 pp, 428 K, about PDF). These practices include appropriate uses of pesticides, fertilizers, water, plants, and stewardship principles that will enhance the value and benefits of residential landscapes to homeowners, communities, and wildlife.

The Initiative’s mission is not only to develop consensus-based guidelines, but also to encourage the public to adopt them. It has supported demonstration projects in EPA’s Region 3 and the San Antonio Water System. These projects will measure their success in comparison to neighborhoods that do not undergo public education campaigns.

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