My soul dog Leo passed away 8 days ago. I’m completely devastated, and since we were doing round the clock caregiving in his last few months, I’m left with an intense anxiety about needing to care for him.

There’s an empty plot in the backyard beneath our big living room picture window… I’d love to plant some things that remind me of him to give me something to care for in those moments but I don’t know the first thing about gardening. I’m in zone 9b.

He loved deer grass… every single time we’d walk past he’d spend a lifetime sniffing and rubbing his face on it, so I’d like to include that. And since I called him “king leonitus” for a while as a nickname, I thought I’d like to plant Lion’s Tail since its name is “Leonotis Leonurus”. The color of the flowers also reminds me vividly of his snow jacket that brings back so many memories. Are these too large? That area is maybe 5 feet wide by 3 feet deep. Can the Lion’s Tail be trimmed to an appropriate size when it grows too large?

I’d also like to fill some raised beds in a little section of the garden with a bench. I assume the deer grass and lions tail are too large for something like that? I was thinking I could plant zucchini because he loved it, and native wildflowers to remember the hundreds of miles we’ve hiked together.

He was obsessed with jumping on every oak tree he saw but I’m not sure planting one is an option because we’re likely not going to be in our house more than another 5 years.

I would love any ideas or advice since I haven’t planted anything but succulents before and I have no idea what can be put together. And if you have any ideas about another plant to represent my boy, I would be so grateful. He was a 13.5 year old German Shepherd… not a mean bone in his body and he fiercely loved his family and his adventures.

Thank you so much!