The Real Cats of Juniper Level Botanic Garden

Tony Avent and Jasper

The black cat cartoons sprinkled throughout the Plant Delights catalog were what first caught my eye. Then, a visit to their nursery in North Carolina showed me these are definitely garden cat people!

I asked Tony Avent to share a few pictures of their garden cats and he sent these two of Jasper. He then said that you can see their other garden cats at: 
https://www.plantdelights.com/pages/cats?fbclid=IwAR09yjXWFfSpvgOZuUUxZnshI7n4TOMxYpkOAPcdfQfOKsf6sKnCFW8gpPc
Be sure to visit the link to see the fun photos and bios, then go visit Plant Delight's Juniper Level Botanic Garden in person!

Jasper and plant tags

 "Jasper loves people and loves to climb trees and to catch mice, birds, squirrels, frogs, lizards, and all other manner of creatures. He loves to chase butterflies, bees, and voles, too. He loves to hang out with Henry, but the feelings are not always mutual. Jasper is our most gregarious cat and if you call him by name he will come to you with his tail pointing straight up in the air...be sure to reward him with a belly rub or a butt scratch.  Likes: Following the staff around the garden to check in. Nursery Tour Groups. Dislikes: Nothing. It's all good."

Not-so-lazy Garfield

Ronnie Port, horticultural advisor at St Bridgets nurseries, in Newton St Cyres, Devon, United Kingdom, shared this photo on her LinkedIn profile.

She said, "This picture was taken by my friend and work colleague, Jess Gowing, of a cat that loves to visit us at work he walks over 1km just to say hi. Meet Garfield, I think her picture shows how epic he is and what a great photographer she is. He’s a lovely little cat with very loving owners. The regular customers we have also love looking out for him."

"He’s our favourite little pal that pays us very regular visits. His wage is being fussed and he follows me around quite a lot expecting a nudge from on top of compost bales, tree lines, gates, and occasionally from the till counter as a tip from customers."

A Spoonful of Sugar

Sugar is the resident garden cat at Trinidad Greenhouses & Floral in Trinidad, Colorado, USA. Sugar's photo was shared by store owner and florist Carol Bazanele.

Carol posted, "This is Sugar, our newest feline employee. I wasn’t going to get a cat after Chaos died, but I went to Noah’s Ark just looking. I’ve never had kitten will power, so I adopted this one. She’s very sweet and super friendly, and eats more than any cat I’ve ever had.
    I wasn’t going to wax poetic about this stupid cat- but, I love her. She’s so sweet, however she’s a thief. She steals keys, pens, anything small. She stole my credit card yesterday. I left it on the table, and found it in her bed. She helps herself to the stuffed animals in front, so she can destroy them in mock battles. She’s a joy! Adopt a shelter pet!! You need some unconditional love in your life! "

How to Submit YOUR Garden Cat Photos/Stories

Being enchanted by both cats and gardens, I decided to start this blog for fun to combine the beauty of both. I know that many of you share my interest in these two passions and I hope you will submit your own images of garden cats with us.

Here is how to submit your image:
- Email to KathyJentz (at) gmail (dot) com
- Put "Cats in Gardens" in the subject line
- Attach your image(s)
- In the body of the email include:
  ~ your name or you can choose to be "anonymous"
  ~ the cat's name (if known)
  ~ where the photo was taken (city, state, country)
  ~ if you have a blog or web site you would like to be linked back to
  ~ a note about the cat or the garden or both, we love to hear your stories!