Non- Toxic Plants for Doodles
While there are many toxic plants you want to keep away from your doodle, there are many safe and beautiful plants that are doodle friendly. Many lush varieties of plant life, with colorful flowers, are safe for doodles. Looking to spice up your garden or your balcony, but unsure which plants are safe for doodles?
Your vet can tell you which plants are safe for your adorable doodle and others to avoid.
Here is our list of some doodle-safe plants and garden favorites that will add beauty and color to your garden without posing any threat to your doodle puppy.
Keep in mind the varieties on this list are specific—for example, while African daisies may be harmless to doodles, other varieties of daisies are considered toxic—and that this list is specific to doodles.
Many of these doodle-safe plants are available at your local home and garden store as seeds, starts, or potted plants. You can also find seeds for good deals online at Burpee’s, Amazon, and other gardening sites.
1. African Violet
While it’s a sacrifice in the height department, the African violet will delight you with beautiful blooms in a variety of colors. Such beauty will bring color and safety to your adorable Doodle without the worry.
2. Areca Palm
If the tropical style of the philodendron is what attracted you in the first place, consider an areca palm instead. With proper care, you can expect an areca palm to reach a height of six to seven feet and live for up to a decade.
3. Boston Fern
If you’d like a pet-safe fern, try the Boston fern. Boston ferns are easy to care for if you know what they like: cool temperatures, high humidity, and indirect light.
4. Camellia
Camellias prefer partial shade, and mature plants are able to survive with little watering. If the plant is brand new, it will require some watering to establish its roots.These flowering shrubs take some work to establish, but once they are rooted in your garden they will keep coming back each year with little effort.
5. Cast Iron Plant
Instead of the toxic to Doodles ZZ plant, try a cast iron plant, which also tolerates low light and has a similar size and deep green shade. This Doodle safe plant grows well indoors.
6. Christmas Cactus
With plump leaves and a slight shine, Christmas cactus serves as a good stand-in for jade. Christmas cactus is hardy and easy to care for. In ideal conditions, you’ll see more good growth and a yearly set of red or bright pink flowers (not always on Christmas).
7. Coral Bells
This Doodle safe plant, Coral Bells grow low mounds of leaves in a range of shades. From green to orange to black, with small sprigs of tiny flowers on long stems wave far above. There are many varieties to choose from, but this variegated coral variety is a real stunner.
8. Creeping Thyme
This Doodle safe plant is another practical herb! Delicious thyme is a perennial plant that is low maintenance. Just a little water and sun, and it’s good to grow. This herb pairs well with roasted vegetables, meat, soups, and potatoes.
9. Dill
Culinary dill is obviously safe for humans, but this feathery weed is also a doodle-safe plant. This herb goes well in creamy dressings, soups, and meats. Delicious dill needs plenty of room to grow—these doodle safe plants grow bigger than expected.
10. Fennel
This tasty bulb has beautiful feathery foliage and the flavor of licorice. While it’s safe for doodles, it’s better for humans: it’s delicious grilled and makes a fragrant addition to salads. The seeds are a great breath freshener and make a soothing tea.
11. Fuchsias
These elegant Doodle safe plants produce pink and purple flowers that look great in hanging baskets outdoors. They love mild, temperate climates like the Pacific Northwest, and can bloom from late spring to late fall.
12. Garden Marigolds
Garden Marigolds are beautiful, bring bees to your garden and protect your vegetables by deterring beetles and other harmful bugs from infesting your edible plants. Their stunning, sun-like blooms are doodle-safe plant winner!
13. Haworthia
Aloe plants can be replaced with safer succulents such as haworthia, also known as the zebra plant. You’ll get a similar soft spiny look, without the risks.
14. Magnolia Bushes
Most people think of large, stately trees, but this doodle-safe plant also grows as a bush. Most magnolia bushes offer spectacular flowers in purple, pink, or white. They love full sun.
15. Mini Phalaenopsis Orchid
For an exotic flower that’s just as colorful, try the Phalaenopsis orchid instead. Like the bird of paradise, orchids like tropical conditions. And their compact size makes them a perfect fit for a favorite habitat: a bathroom windowsill.
16. Money Tree
If you’re looking for a similar small tree look, without the ill effects, try a money tree instead. It’s hardy, needs very little care.
17. Moth Orchid
For an indoor flower in the same sophisticated white, try the moth orchid. Like most orchids, moth orchids prefer warm and humid conditions, with plenty of indirect sunlight.
18 Nasturtium
Nasturtiums are my favorite annual flowers to grow for a few reasons. The flowers are edible and have a surprising spicy flavor. Nasturtiums grow in poorer soils and they do not need fertilizers, so you can plant them in the odd spots in your yard. They drape down garden boxes and rock walls in colorful elegance, and they smell like heaven.
19. Parlor Palm
For a similar aesthetic, try the parlor palm, which also grows upright and brushlike. You can count on it to stay roughly the same size, making it a fun and predictable design element.
20. Peperomia Caperata
For a similar size and heart-shaped leaf, try Peperomia. This plant also blooms annually, with interesting flowers that look like tails.
21. Pineapple Sage
This Doodle safe plant, Pineapple sage smells amazing. It attracts hummingbirds with its pink tubular flowers. What a tasty addition to everything from fruit salads, salsas to sangria. Usually in the annual category but may come back in spring if your winter is mild enough.
22. Polka Dot Plant
This low-growing, shade-loving doodle-safe plant adds a splash of pink all summer long. It’s perennial in warm climates, and even makes a nice houseplant.
23. Prayer Plant
For a safer variegated leaf, try the prayer plant, which can tolerate low-light conditions and infrequent watering.
24. Purple Basil
This Doodle safe gorgeous variety of basil creates a delicious (purple) pesto, and brings stunning color to your garden beds. After frost is over, plant purple basil with a place in the sun and plenty of water. Cut and eat what you want and you and your doodle can enjoy until the first frost of the year.
25. Rosemary
All rosemary is suitable for culinary use and is considered a doodle-safe plant. Rosemary’s creeping variety is a hardy way to fill empty spaces in your yard with a low, fluffy cloud of evergreen. The trailing stems look especially beautiful cascading over the edge of a raised bed or container. This sun-loving ground cover will release a waft of scent whenever your doodle scampers through.
26. Snapdragons
Everyone loves a sunny snapdragon patch. These doodle-safe plants are easy to grow from seed in full sun, and produce a range of colors from yellow to red on tall stems. Makes great cut flower arrangements too.
27. Spider Plant
Replace pothos with a spider plant, which also looks great from a hanging basket. Like pothos, spider plants are easy to grow (and difficult to kill).
28. Sunflower
Sunflowers are the epitome of summer. A huge range of sizes and colors are available for this annual plant. These doodle-safe plants can grow several feet tall, make a great border along fences or in front of the house, and love a sunny spot with plenty of water. As sunflowers lose their bright petals, the seeds mature and attract birds through the fall.
29. Swedish Ivy
For something that can still cascade beautifully from a bookshelf or hanging pot, try Swedish ivy instead. It’s easy to care for and grows quickly with little maintenance.
30. Wax Plant Hoya
For a safer variegated leaf, try a wax plant, or Hoya. A Hoya might need a little more light, but they’re still low maintenance, and, unlike the Chinese evergreen, might bless you with some star-shaped blooms. This Doodle safe plant adds simple beauty without the worry.
Though it’s almost impossible to know every plant poisonous to your doodles, making yourself aware of some of the most common and dangerous toxic plants is a great start. Don’t be deceived by gorgeous blooms and houseplants. They can be some of the worst toxins!
Now you have 30 great options for your garden. You may be wondering if the plants already growing in home and garden are safe for your precious Doodle. Here is a good database to research Doodle toxic plants. https://www.rover.com/blog/poisonous-plants/
Never fear! We compiled a series of region-specific lists that look at common wild and landscaping plants dangerous for doodles in the US.
For more about poisonous plants inside your home, see our articles,
Whether your living space is a big, beautiful backyard or on a sunny windowsill, we hope it’s always relaxing for you and safe for your Doodles. Happy planting!