Sarah LesslerAs summer has arrived, discover our curated list of pet and horse-friendly plants to cultivate vibrant gardens while ensuring the safety of your beloved animals. Explore our guide to find the best plants to grow and learn about toxic plants to avoid. Create beautiful and worry-free gardens for your home and barn this season.
Safe Plants for Your Garden
Sunflowers
Sunflowers offer a safe and visually captivating option for gardens with pets and horses. Their non-toxic nature, attractive appearance, and versatility make them a popular choice among gardeners seeking to create a pet-friendly and aesthetically pleasing outdoor space. Sunflowers will enhance the appearance of your barn garden while keeping your four legged loved ones safe.
Zinnias
Zinnias can bring beauty, color, and a touch of nature to horse barns. Their non-toxic nature, low maintenance requirements, attractiveness to pollinators, and potential pest-repellent qualities make them a favorable choice for enhancing the barn’s aesthetic appeal and creating a pleasant environment for both horses and humans. Zinnias contain no substances that could be harmful to your horses and provide cheerful pops of yellow, pinks, orange and reds to your garden.
Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums offer not only visual beauty but also practical benefits for a barn garden. Their attractive colors with abundance of green leaves, ease of cultivation, and trailing habit make them a favorable choice for enhancing the beauty and functionality of the barn garden. They will act as repellents to unwanted pests and are easy to grow and will spread nicely in hanging baskets, containers, or trellises around your barn.
Leyland Cypress Tree
If you are looking for a tree that can provide privacy, and screening, and grow in many different types of soil, the Leyland Cypress is a great option for your farm. It is a fast-growing evergreen tree that is non-toxic to horses and can be used in a variety of ways in your garden or around your farm.
Toxic Plants to Avoid
- Yew
- Oleander
- Buttercups
- Jimsonweed
- Foxglove
- Rhododendron and Azalea
- Red Maple Trees
- Bracken Ferns
Here are some of our favorite products to spruce up your barn garden
Tools and Supplies
Garden Tools– This high-quality set of aluminum garden tools is lightweight and will not rust. It also comes with a tote bag organizer.
Hose– This wall-mounted hose makes watering your garden easy with its retractable feature, 180-degree swivel ability that keeps out kinks and its adjustable spray nozzle.
Leaf-blower-This leaf blower is both cordless and had variable speeds. It will help keep your garden and property looking meticulous.
Bench– This heavy-duty bench and kneeler will help you while planting and maintaining your garden.
Style
Trellis: This solid wood trellis is coated in an oil wax finish, and will sustain all weather. It has drainage holes and is 70 inches tall for vines to grow vertically and to hang baskets of flowers.
Bird Bath: This bird bath comes either free-standing or handing and has a solar-powered pump to keep the fountain flowing. It is made of a strong aluminum that is easy to clean and resistant to rust.
Garden Bench: This lightweight aluminum bench has a simple modern design and is the perfect way to add a stylish feature to your barn garden to sit and enjoy the scenery.
Outdoor Pillows and Pillow Covers: Add some extra comfort and style to the garden bench with these weatherproof pillows and covers.
We hope this article helps you create your a beautiful and safe garden at your home and barn where you can relax and enjoy the outdoors with your horses and pets. For more garden inspiration check out our most recent July/August Issue featuring “Classic Gardens” and a past feature on the Ladew Topiary Gardens.