Animal-Friendly Landscape Design
At Shades of Green, we deeply value the role animals play in bringing landscapes to life—and as pet and livestock owners ourselves, we design with them in mind. In In the project above, we nestled a barn into the garden to create a charming “horse hello” moment while also providing a thoughtful screen between properties. Barn architecture by Mark Cavagnero Associates.
We’ve designed chicken-friendly gardens and landscapes that welcome local raptors. If you’re thinking about adding a backyard coop, Mile Four offers a handy calculator to help you determine the right coop size for your flock.
We’ve also created farm gardens that comfortably support animals ranging from llamas and sheep to goats and cows. Thoughtful planning of fencing, pathways, and maintenance tools is essential to keep these working landscapes functional and safe over time.
And of course we can’t forget our pets! UC Davis has made a handy Toxic Plant Garden guide that highlights which plants can be harmful to cats, dogs, horses and livestock.
With thoughtful choices, we build landscapes that are not only beautiful, but truly shared environments for people and the animals who depend on them.