
If you've been following Lazy Flora on social media for any time at all, you'll probably have noticed that pets are a big part of the life of our team.
So it won't be a surprise to you that we're today launching our first ever Outdoor pet-friendly plant collections.
My own experience with my dog Cocoa is partly what led us to introduce our Indoor pet-friendly plant subscriptions last year, and our indoor pet-friendly plant boutique earlier this year.
Cocoa is a curious and adventurous little soul, and unfortunately this has led to a couple of emergency vet trips over the years. When she was just over a year old, she got hold of a tulip bulb (highly toxic to dogs) which led to induced vomiting under vet's instructions. And last summer, she nibbled on some lantana, which also led to an emergency vet trip. Thankfully she was fine both times, but these were scary episodes that I don't wish to repeat.
We can't control what our pets get into 100% of the time. There will always be the unfortunate drive-by incidents out on walks when Cocoa munches something before I can stop her. But in the small, enclosed outdoor space that I have, I can certainly control which plants are within her reach. And I want to be 100% sure that those plants are ones that won't cause her any harm if she does decide she fancies a leafy snack.
Having done quite extensive research over the past 2 years, it seems that the vast majority of plants are toxic to cats and/or dogs in one way or another.
It hasn't always been easy for us to curate one pet-friendly indoor plant every month, let alone a full collection of seasonal outdoor plants.
But that's also why it's so important that we do it: it's a genuine challenge that I face myself, and that I know many of you are facing too.
So I'm super proud to present, for the first time ever, our dog-friendly and cat-friendly outdoor plant collections.
(I'm afraid we can't guarantee that the plants are non-toxic to pets other than cats and dogs, so please do your research before allowing any other pets access to plants of any kind.)
I hope you enjoy them.
Claire (and Cocoa).
Photo credit: Anita Nagypal