Stopping to smell the flowers
The loyal gardening companion
Arlene Marturano

Photo by Arlene Marturano

She was my sidekick in the garden for 14 winters.

She grew up in the garden, pathways were chosen by her, and shrubs and trees were positioned for her exploration and adventures.

The deck was her lookout point to survey the yard. She alerted me to snakes living under the deck.

I cultivated woody rather than herbaceous plants when she was a puppy. Within a natural pine canopy we planted eastern red cedars, golden raintree, red maple, tulip poplar, Japanese maple, dogwoods, lilacs, and French mulberry.

She loved sniffing the trumpets and the bright yellow complemented her liver and white feathered coat. As she and the woody plants matured, stalwart perennials were added to beds.

Ground covers like periwinkle, soapwort, mondo grass, and creeping juniper withstood pet traffic around the deck.

When vegetable seedlings became chew toys and the bed a dig site, vegetables were moved to containers outside Brittany's backyard.

Arlene Marturano is a master gardener, writer, and educator. As an advocate of gardening as a tool for learning, she helped develop the Carolina Children's Garden at the Sandhill Research and Education Center. She is an education consultant with T.E.A.C.H. marturano@yahoo.com

She shared a perspective on a canine's view of the landscape when I walked her on a leash and followed her lead. Getting on all fours took me to places bipeds usually miss.

The bed of azaleas was a corridor of tunnels. Dogs experience the true meaning of down to earth.

Lawn and garden fertilizers, chemical and organic, are not safe for dogs because the chemicals burn their paws and irritate skin. Organic fertilizer like bone meal and blood meal may appeal to dogs, but should not be used either.

Baits for slugs, snails, voles and moles can be lethal to pets as well as the pests. Our garden is a certified backyard wildlife habitat so no pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides should be used.

Beneficial insects, birds, bats, snakes, lizards, toads, and frogs help control pests. Handpicking and squishing pests solve many problems as does persistent surveillance and maintenance. Maintaining soil fertility produces healthy plants. Adding homemade compost and compost tea enhances fertility.

At the end of each day Brittany and I would walk the path to the compost bin, however, her interest in compost was different than mine. As a senior dog with arthritis, she oversaw my gardening from the deck or lying next to the bed I was tending. The last year of her life she battled several serious illnesses but still walked with me in the garden until she was hospitalized.

Brittany's companionship, devotion and deep abiding love are greatly missed, as are her nudges, nose prints, and scratching to go out in the garden.

Her daffodils were blooming when she passed. Their life will return her life to my garden each February where her sweet spirit rules.