Landscaping Essentials

If your Mastiff is anything like mine they like to graze, eat various leaves/plants and chew wood. I was surprised that so many of the plants I was contemplating for my yard are toxic to dogs -- the ever present Oleander being one of the most completely toxic (all parts). Therefore, before you spend mega-bucks on landscaping, take a look that the following list (from St. John's Hospital Poison Resource Center, Springfield/IL).

Aloe vera                                   Anemone
Angel Trumpet Tree                      Angel wings
Apricot (kernels)                         Arrowhead
Avocado (leaves)                            Azaleas
Betel nut palm                          Bittersweet
Bleeding heart                              Buckeye
Buttercups                                 Caladium
Calla lily                              Castor bean
Cattail        Cherries (seeds, bark, pits, leaves)
Christmas rose                        Chrysanthemum
Crocus, Autumn                             Daffodil
Daphne                                   Delphinium
Devil's ivy                           Dieffenbachia
Dutchmans breeches                       Elderberry
Elephant ear                            English ivy
Four o'clock                               Foxglove
Holly berries                        Horsetail reed
Hyacinth                                  Hydrangea
Iris                             Jack-in-the-pulpit
Jerusalem cherry                Jessamine (jasmine)
Jimson weed                                 Jonquil
Lantana camara (red sage)                  Larkspur
Laurels                         Lilly-of-the-valley
Lobelia                                   Marijuana
May apple                                  Milkweed
Mistletoe                                 Monkshood
Moonseed                              Morning glory
Mother-in-law plant                       Mushrooms
Narcissus                                Nightshade
Oleander                                     Orchid
Ornamental pepper                        Periwinkle
Peyote (mescal)                        Philodendron
Poison hemlock                           Poison ivy
Pokeweed                                      Poppy
Potato (all green parts)                   Primrose
Ranunculus                             Rhododendron
Rhubarb (leaves)                         Rosary pea
Tobacco                              Tomato (vines)
Tulip                                 Water hemlock
Wisteria                                        Yew