Can you hear it? That sound of the horticultural industry exhaling? We are at the end of theChelsea flower show, AKA Gardening Christmas. Designers, contractors, nurseries, growers and gardeners have been beetling away building things, attending things, observing things from a distance and generally finding the whole event a delicious, exhausting, engaging, controversial affair.
Perhaps you pore over it on the telly, perhaps you brave the queues and the floral-dressed crowds, perhaps you ignore it entirely, but Chelsea does set the metronome and the bellwether for gardening trends that, like Anne Hathaway’s infamous cerulean sweater in The Devil Wears Prada, filter down to what we do in our own gardens several seasons later. Corten steel, Mediterranean planting, the rise of the wildflower, outdoor kitchens: all were spotted first at Chelsea.
This year has a surprisingly canine focus, with Monty Don – usually busy hosting the BBC coverage, or swapping the press tent for the plush of the velvet banquettes in theNewt hospitalitysuite – designing the RHS and BBC Radio 2Dog Garden. When this was announced last autumn, it was proclaimed the show’s first dog-friendly garden (which is not true: Jo Thompsonmade oneback in 2012).
Nevertheless, the focus onmaking beautiful gardens that are practical for our furry friendsis something designers traditionally overlook; one once told me the worst part of the job was having to dodge dog poo while doing a recce on a new site.
Three years after Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt set tongues (not tails) wagging with theirbest-in-show-winning rewilded garden, “weedy” lawns are firmly back on the agenda.
Don’s garden, which was designed by a team headed by Jamie Butterworth, features dandelions, clover and daisies, all meticulously transported from RHS Garden Wisley. Diverse lawns are more hardy for the needs of pet ownership, as well as offering many new things to sniff. But clover is especially good because it remains green during periods of drought and the onslaught of dog pee, whereas grass will yellow. You can add some in by making bare patches with a rake (if your dog hasn’t made some already) and sowing over with white clover – now is the perfect time.
Obviously, you’ll want to avoid planting what is toxic to dogs – among the varieties to avoid are azaleas, autumn crocus and lilies. But dog-friendly gardens will actively include forgiving, clump-forming plants that don’t mind a bit of a bash. Rosemary puts up with such things, as do roses (which have thorns), as well as hardy geraniums,Alchemillamollis.
Active diggers may benefit from a designated area in which to dig, not unlike a sandpit for small children, which can be shielded with greenery or hidden inside a raised bed. Whether your dog will choose to dig there over a flowerbed is a matter beyond my horticultural knowledge.