I have two dogs, whose names are Tonka and Bandit. Tonka is a female Great Pyrenees and Bandit is a male Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. While these two animals may be wonderful c
ompanions and fabulous with the kids, they really are nothing but destructive where gardening is concerned. Bandit is a 'chewer' and Tonka is a 'smotherer' (she lays on the most lush plant she can find.) Therefore, I have confined most of my gardening adventures to my front yard, which is quite small compared to my back yard. I have three flower beds in the back, one being a rock garden that I had hoped would keep Tonka from laying on all my shade plants. Alas, she taught Bandit to lay on them instead because he fits in the spaces better. Another bed in the backyard is full of plants that are more prolific. I have some Four O'Clocks there that come back from seed each year, some iris that have managed to survive, Salvia that seems to be offensive to Bandit, and a couple of Stella D'Oro daylilies. The dogs run
through, dig in and lay in this bed at will, but amazingly it usually still looks nice. The third bed is a complete disaster. I made the colossal mistake of placing the bed in a nice, sunny spot next to the house. What I didn't know is that Tonka spends her afternoons napping in the sun in this very spot. All the daylilies I have planted in this bed are dead or pathetic, and the bushes have all been chewed to the point of oblivion. Somehow, I can't seem to give up the idea of having flowers in this spot, so I continue to try, year after year, to get something to grow.
ompanions and fabulous with the kids, they really are nothing but destructive where gardening is concerned. Bandit is a 'chewer' and Tonka is a 'smotherer' (she lays on the most lush plant she can find.) Therefore, I have confined most of my gardening adventures to my front yard, which is quite small compared to my back yard. I have three flower beds in the back, one being a rock garden that I had hoped would keep Tonka from laying on all my shade plants. Alas, she taught Bandit to lay on them instead because he fits in the spaces better. Another bed in the backyard is full of plants that are more prolific. I have some Four O'Clocks there that come back from seed each year, some iris that have managed to survive, Salvia that seems to be offensive to Bandit, and a couple of Stella D'Oro daylilies. The dogs run 
through, dig in and lay in this bed at will, but amazingly it usually still looks nice. The third bed is a complete disaster. I made the colossal mistake of placing the bed in a nice, sunny spot next to the house. What I didn't know is that Tonka spends her afternoons napping in the sun in this very spot. All the daylilies I have planted in this bed are dead or pathetic, and the bushes have all been chewed to the point of oblivion. Somehow, I can't seem to give up the idea of having flowers in this spot, so I continue to try, year after year, to get something to grow.
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