The Outdoor Trees and Plants That Are Safe for Pets (and What to Avoid)

Whether you love gardening or pride yourself on a perfectly landscaped space ideal for entertaining (or both), creating and maintaining a beautiful outdoor space for you and your family to enjoy adds immeasurable value to your property and your quality of life.

If your family includes beloved pets who also enjoy your outdoor spaces, however, you need to be careful when it comes to the plants you choose for your garden or landscaping. There are many plants safe for humans that can poison our four-legged friends. It is therefore essential to be deliberate in your choices when planning the garden or laying out your landscaping if pets are allowed outside. Here are some pet-safe plants to focus on and others to avoid at all costs.

Note that these lists are not exhaustive: you can check the database maintained by the ASPCA before planting anything not explicitly mentioned here.

Pet-Safe Trees and Shrubs

You might not think that trees can harm your pets, but they can: The nuts, leaves, and even bark of some trees can be toxic to dogs and cats. If your landscaping plan involves adding trees and shrubs for more shade and privacy, here are some safe choices:

• Red maple. These trees are striking additions to any yard with their bright red leaves. They are dangerous for horses, but safe for dogs and cats.

• Dogwood. Another beautiful shade tree with white and green flowers, it is 100% safe for dogs and cats.

• Magnolias. If your pet is one of those creatures that likes to experimentally eat everything it comes across, rest assured: the leaves, flowers, and bark of this pretty white-pink flowering tree are safe to eat.

• Amelanchier. Sometimes called Shadbush or Juneberry, these small trees are visually stunning when in bloom and are beneficial to local birds and other wildlife that feed on the berries. Their small size makes them useful for landscaping and they are perfectly safe for pets, even berries.

• Crepe myrtle. These fast-growing plants fall somewhere between a tree and a shrub in terms of size, so they are often useful for landscaping and pose no threat to your pets.

• Camellias. These colorful shrubs are ideal for creating natural privacy screens and are safe for your pets.

• Spirea. If you like the look of azaleas or rhododendrons in your garden but prefer to avoid poisoning your pets, spireas are a great pet-safe alternative. They look very similar: full, with lots of colorful flowers.

• Golden bells. Perfect for borders and privacy screens, these bright yellow shrubs will pose no threat to your four-legged friends.

Some to avoid: Walnut trees, most fruit trees, azaleas and rhododendrons.

Pet-Safe Annual Plants

If you like to change your garden or landscaping every year and rely on annuals for that flexibility, you have many great choices:

• Impatiens. Colorful and easy to grow, they will bloom all spring and summer.

• Zinnia. Fast growing, so a good choice if you are replacing a poisonous flower and need pink and red in your color palette.

• Sunflowers. There are perennial and annual species of sunflowers, and they come in a wide range of colors, so you can really liven up the design of your outdoor space, attract lots of pollinators, and never worry about your dog or cat getting sick.

• Petunias. Technically, these pretty flowers are what we call “tender perennials” because they can return year after year, but generally do not survive the cold. They’re a great choice for pops of color that won’t harm your pets.

• Celosias. Colorful and unique, with large spiky flowers, they are great for variety and are easy to grow and perfectly safe for dogs and cats.

Some to avoid: Tulips, begonias, lilies and geraniums.

Pet-Safe Perennials

Perennial plants can be easier to care for and provide a sense of permanence, which is nice if you really love the garden or outdoor space you’ve created. If this is your case, here are some suggestions for pet-safe perennial plants:

• Asters. If you like mums, asters are a great alternative that pose no threat to your pets. They look like mums and arrive late in the year to keep your outdoor spaces colorful.

• Coral bells. They are excellent filler plants that will make your flower beds look full and vibrant, and attract pollinators and hummingbirds.

• Tick ​​seed (aka Coreopsis). If you like daisies, this traditionally yellow flower (modern variations offer more color choices) is a safer alternative. It’s easy to grow and maintain (very drought tolerant for those of us who continually forget to water) and makes a sparse flower bed look full.

• Catmint. Closely related to catnip, it’s a great choice if you have an adventurous indoor/outdoor feline. Catnip looks like a weed, but the catmint is a beautiful purple flower that your pets can nibble on to their heart’s delight (yes, dogs too).

Some to avoid: Daisies, mums, creeping jenny, ajuga, peonies, hosta and lilies.

Pet-Safe Vegetables and Herbs

If your gardening is more about feeding your family, don’t assume that your pets can too because you can eat them. Some safe vegetable choices in your garden include carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, pumpkin (there’s a reason it’s found in so many pet foods), peas, sweet potatoes, and broccoli.

Some to avoid: Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, hot peppers, eggplant and green beans.

If you’re growing your own herbs to use in your cooking, you can’t go wrong with basil, sage, rosemary, cilantro, dill, or thyme.

Some to avoid: Chives, oregano, mint, bay leaf and tarragon.

Pet-Safe Floor Covers

Landscaping is not just about choosing and arranging large plants. You also need ground covers to tie it all together and protect your floor – and ground covers can also be toxic to pets. Most lawn grasses are safe for pets (cats will sometimes eat lawn grasses to induce vomiting; while this is usually a natural and healthy instinct for them, you shouldn’t let them do it too much, so it’s something to consider if you let your cat explore your lawn). Other safe ground covers include moss, summer snow, sedges, hardy ice plant, lamb’s ear and creeping phlox.

What to avoid: Cocoa mulch, asparagus fern and ivy.