Last year at the New England Grows! Conference and Expo in Boston, I came upon The Underground, an interesting group of landscape and nursery professionals who work mostly in the Boston/SE Mass area. I joined so I could follow their activities and benefit from the useful gardening information shared there.
Their current discussion board especially caught my eye: Dog friendly gardens ~ Plants to avoid, plants dogs like....
How lucky the dog whose owner muses, "I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on plants, design ideas etc that a dog would enjoy...." ! It reminds me of our now deceased goof-ball dog, who was of such indeterminate origin that I had to invent a breed just for her: Socks, the one and only Ersttweiler. 
She looked and sounded like a sweet wookiee, as you can kind of tell from this 1990 pre-digital photo I just scanned. The mold has been broken, folks.
She loved everything about the outdoors, so she was easy to please. I remember leaving her on one side of the house while I worked in the garden on the other side. I walked over to check her without fully looking around the corner, and there she was, lounging about and smiling that serene doggie smile at me. But when I went to check again and really looked behind her, she'd dug up most of the garden around her. Such fun! You can have your Rottweilers ~ I'd take that Ersttweiler any day!
Well, what would dogs like in a garden besides holes of their own making? Suggestions on the list range from nice thick lawns to roll around on for backscratching; large hostas to "dig a cool cave under...while waiting for the FedEx delivery;" Verbena bonariensis, which another Undergrounder's dogs chew up...
Maybe you're thinking of adding water features to your garden this year, but if you have a dog to please, be sure to include places to burrow holes and vantage points for observing the world :
On really hot days, dogs love to dig in the bat cave (at my house it is an overgrown taxus) that seems to be immune to the effects of the dog (only one in particular) that loves to burrow under it. I hide that area from sight with some tough perennials like daylilies and self sowing rudbeckia etc. that she can't hurt too much - which minimizes the "gardening conflicts"!
Dogs also love to be able to see out and survey their world - so when it is cooler there is a little hill that they all have liked sitting/lying on so that they can see the street, back door, most of the driveway and keep an eye on their little slice of the planet.
Of course, many dogs will like your water features also. Any serious dog will surely think your new pond will go great with the holes. Hey, maybe you can get your dog to dig the pond. Synergy!
OK, back from this imaginary romp in the yard to return to The Underground. Another recent discussion is about a trellis for espalier and what trees could be trained to the trellis. There are job listings and professional meeting announcements. If you are a professional landscape architect, you'll want to check out The Underground, join it (which is free), and be listed on this site. If you are a consumer of landscaping services, you'll want to check out The Underground's Consumer Articles, such as How to Hire A Landscape Professional.
The landscape professionals I quote above are:
- Kristen, of AquaTerra Designs in Dorchester, MA (the poser of the question)
- Pamela Hart, of Pamela Hart Landscape Services
- Ellen Sousa of THB Farm, a central Massachusetts horse farm
- Catherine Rooney of DesignerOfGreens in Ashland, MA
Rhode Island landscape architects should note that The Underground lists its professional members at Find a Landscape Professional. Only 9 Rhode Islanders are listed, but I'm sure we have quite a few more than that, even if this is the smallest state in the Union. The listing notes who is a member of the Northeast Organic Gardening Association (NOFA). RI doesn't have its own NOFA chapter, but several Rhode Islanders participate in the Massachusetts and Connecticut groups.
Oh, yes, one more thing: The Underground organizes several meetings each year. The next one is:
Landscape Contractor and Designer Relations
Panel Discussion
Saturday, January 26, 2008 1:00-4:00
Elm Bank, Wellesley, MA
Registration is $20 in advance, or $25 at the door.
The meeting has been listed in What Grows On in Rhode Island, which can alert you to all sorts of cool, green things to do.
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