Experts are encouraging householders not to scrub off the moss in the garden or be “precious” about their lawn if the dog scruffs it up.
The advice, at a Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) event ahead of the annual Chelsea Flower Show, comes as gardening experts said last year’s damp, mild weather had made it the “sluggiest” on record.
But the drier, sunnier weather was proving a boon for pollinators which struggled last year, and was likely to reduce activity from the greatest garden foes, slugs and snails – although there were warnings about managing gardens, and particularly soils, in the face of dry conditions.
Hayley Jones, principal entomologist at the RHS, said: “Last year was our sluggiest on record, because our garden enquiries service has had a greater proportion of slug enquiries than anything else.”
She added that slugs did well in damp conditions without extremes of heat or cold.
“Returning to more noticeable seasons, hopefully means that there will be less slug activity this spring if it stays dry and sunny,” she said.
Pollinating insects also appeared to be benefiting from the weather this spring, after the damp conditions saw bees, butterflies and flies struggle last year.
“So far this year it’s looking really positive,” Ms Jones said, with prunus blossom at RHS Wisley, for example, “absolutely heaving with bumblebees”.
“It feels like a very bright and sunny and buzzing spring,” she said.
Among the gardens at Chelsea this year is the RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden designed by TV gardener Monty Don, with a dog-friendly lawn at its heart.
The lawn has been developed by the RHS to be hard-wearing, rather than immaculate, and features lawn wildflowers including daisies and dandelions that gardeners have traditionally fought as weeds.
Gardener Jamie Butterworth, who is working on the garden with Monty Don, said: “Despite this being the greatest flower show on Earth, we don’t want this to be an immaculate lawn, we want this to be a modest and familiar one.
“Despite the weeds, this is not about rewilding, nor is it a meadow, nor is it immaculate bowling green, it is a modest, familiar, authentic lawn you’ll see in most homes across the UK.”
He said the lawn had been developed to be tough and accommodating of dogs, and added: “Lawns need not be perfect. If you love an immaculate lawn that’s great, good for you. If you don’t, that’s fine as well.
“You don’t need to worry or stress about it, the shaggy lawn is back.”
Guy Barter, chief horticulturist at the RHS, said: “Our ultimate dog lawn is in truth, pretty humble, combining only a hard-wearing grass seed and the stalwarts of the garden – daisies, dandelions and clover.
“It’s a reminder that lawns don’t have to look perfect to be perfect for our pets, everyday use and the wider environment.”
Mr Barter and Dawn Grehan, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s lead horticulturalist, shared tips for making gardens dog friendly, such as choosing scented plants and flowers in colours dogs can see such as yellows and blues and avoiding species that can be toxic to the animals.
And Ms Grehan said: “I know firsthand dogs love lawns. Try not to be precious about your lawn, it might get a bit scratched up, rolled on, but embrace that – the enrichment benefits they are getting from that are huge.”
Ahead of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, gardeners are also being urged to support another humble backyard feature – moss.
Zoe Claymore, designer of the Wildlife Trusts and Aviva’s “rainforest garden” at Chelsea which is inspired by the UK’s rare and precious temperate rainforest habitat rich in mosses, lichens and ferns, said: “Moss is a plant, it is amazing. Please don’t ignore it and scrub it off the garden.”
She said: “I think it’s been overlooked because we get attracted by pretty flowers, and we often overlook the smaller things that don’t shine as bright.
“I think a lot of people have forgotten it’s a plant, and actually just seen it as something to scrub off, to get rid of, they see it like dirt, and it’s actually an amazing plant.”
Moss is an “amazing” air cleaner, holds a lot of moisture which can help absorb water in a damp, boggy garden, can attach to surfaces to green up urban areas and boost mental health, is cheaper than trying to grow plants that do not fit in shady, damp areas and is even nice to lie on, she said.
