Monty Don unveils dog-friendly garden ... but it's poisonous to pets

Telegraph

17-05-2025

Monty Don has unveiled a dog-friendly garden at the Chelsea Flower Show that is toxic to pets.
The BBC Gardeners' World presenter has filled his first garden at Chelsea with features including a dog house, plants shaped as balls, and terracotta pots with paw prints.
Don admitted some of the plants, such as alliums and foxgloves, were poisonous to dogs.
He said: 'There are plants in the garden that are technically poisonous to dogs. However, there are no plants that I don't have in my own garden and I've always had dogs.
'My view on this is actually the main plant I worry about is yew and we don't have that in the garden.
'In my experience, dogs are sensible and owners are sensible.'
Yew trees carry a chemical compound that is toxic to dogs.
Don has teamed up with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for his design, called the RHS and Radio 2 dog garden, which will not be judged.
It would be relocated to nearby Battersea Dogs & Cats Home after the show and any plants not wanted by the charity would be removed, the horticulturalist said.
Don, who has presented the BBC's Chelsea Flower Show coverage since 2014, said creating the garden had been a 'humbling' process that made him 'hugely' respect other designers and makers.
In his garden, which is being kept under wraps while it is constructed, a central lawn is surrounded by plants shaped into paths.
It features a grass meadow and an area of water for dogs to wallow in, and a large open-fronted 'dog house' with an old sofa for the animals to retreat to.
As well as dandelions, clover, and daisies, Don said he chose to include round-headed alliums to evoke balls.
Alliums, and especially their bulbs, are poisonous to dogs and can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and even death in extreme cases.
Don said: 'We have a brief to make a beautiful garden for Chelsea. The only dogs that are going to be allowed on here are mine or others specifically invited and on a lead and under control.
'When it goes to Battersea, it will not have any plants Battersea doesn't want to be there, we will remove any that they feel has any toxicity to their dogs.
'We're not saying these are plants that are perfectly safe, what are you making a fuss about? What I am saying is in my experience, I've not had any problems with these plants, and I've had dogs for the last 65 years.'
He said that everyday activities, from cutting with knives in the kitchen to driving a car or crossing the road, were more dangerous to dogs than the plants.
'Just be sensible, don't get hysterical, but at the same time don't dismiss it,' he added.
Don was originally approached by the RHS to design a dog-friendly garden and said he did not want the project, created with horticulturalist Jamie Butterworth, to have any deeper message.
'It doesn't matter what kind of garden or how good or bad it is, it's an almost unimaginable amount of work because of the detail you have to attend to,' he said.
He added he was looking forward to getting back to presenting coverage for next week's show after his stint as a designer, which he described as 'moonlighting'.
'I now have real insight into the whole process. I didn't know I needed that and I do, it's humbling,' he said.