Surprise Plant Cutting Roots Itself

This adorable garden cat was shared by Noelle Johnson AZ Plant Lady® on her Instagram feed. 

She wrote, "As my sister was checking out her new plantings, she got a surprise.🌸😸🌼 Any surprises in your gardens lately?"

She shared that his name is Scissors and he is over 10 years old. "He is mostly an outdoor cat and loves to rest in pots ;-)," said Noelle.

Snoopy Sleeps Under the Stars

Daniel Weil of Wintersweet House Gardens shared his photo and wrote, "His name is Snoopy. He was loose around here and let himself be adopted by a neighbor, who even put in heating in the garage for him. Does he use it? No, he likes to sleep outside. He is a sweetheart and a superb manager of the gardeners and photographer here."

Wear Your Green for St. Gertrude!

Here is an update of one of our most popular posts:

Thank you to the Crazy Cat Ladies Community on Facebook for letting my know about Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, who is the patron saint of Cats AND Gardening. I'm Catholic, adore both cats and gardening, and had never heard of her. No lie! 

The 17th of March is her Saint's Day, which she shares with St. Patrick. "Fine weather on her feast day meant it was time to begin spring planting." This may also explain why we think of St. Patrick's Day as the traditional day for early spring crop sowing -- especially peas -- even though St. Pat has nothing to do with gardening.

She lived from 626 to 659. According to Catholics Online, "Gertrude was a mystic, (who was) gifted with visions. She befriended the Irish saints Foillian and Ultan." You can read more about her life here and here.

Let's reclaim the day for St. Gertrude and wear your green proudly in memory of her love for gardening and for cats!

A Blasé Attitude? Not One Bit

This is Blaze. His owner, Marty Last, generously shared her story and photos with us.

"In the summer of 2011, we had to put down our beloved Main Coon cat, Cloudy, who at the age of 20 died of cystitis, a common ailment of elderly male cats.  It wasn’t long before we so missed having a feline friend in our home that we  began a search for new family feline.  We agreed that it would be a rescue cat, and since I had once had a wonderful Siamese, we  decided on that breed.  So, we began exploring the website of Siamese cat Rescue Center (SRC), based in Louisa, Virginia, that serves  the entire east coast.  That  turned out to be an excellent choice! "

"We were assigned an online interviewer by SRC,  who assisted in matching us with the dozens of cats we could view online on the SRC website.  SRC offered transport service called the Meezer Express should our choice be far away. A particular requirement recommended for our match was that since there was already a cat in our household - our son’s female tortie - our selection should be a male, and known to be tolerant of other animals. That eventually narrowed the the search to Blaze who seemed a perfect fit!  Foster moms quotes were superlative: 'wonderful personality, very affectionate, and attentive.'  One foster mom had a personal  pet, a female tortoise shell who was privileged to sleep with her, but would not allow other cats.  Blaze decided he wanted to sleep with her and he would not 'take no' for an answer.  He won with gentle persistence.  But Blaze was in Florida, we were in the Washington, DC, area."

"Blaze at age two years, eleven months, a neutered male, was surrendered to Assisi animal shelter in the  Naples, Florida area by his owners due wishing to be 'free to travel.' A handsome flame Point Siamese (not a Seal Point), friendly, sweet boy who tolerated all other animals in the shelter —  cats and dogs included. A good match, but all the way to Florida?  We gave up hope for a while. . . But we were cleared for adoption but put on hold."

"Then one day our interviewer called with good news.  A couple, who were volunteers on the Meezer Express, were disembarking from a Caribbean cruise in Florida contacted the Express coordinator wanting to know if any cats needed to be transported from Florida to the Washington area!  Amazing timing and coincidence."

"Blaze was delivered by the volunteers to our home in McLean at about 2:00 a.m. Easter Morning 2012!  The volunteers declined offers of coffee, but stayed to watch me release Blaze from his carrier.  He came bounding out and immediately jumped into my lap purring.  Characteristic Blaze. He adjusted right away. He seems especially to adore my husband when they met that morning."

"Blaze is such a sweet friendly fellow, he just loves people.  Often when we have guests, he is always present wherever we congregate.  Then after a while seems to choose one guest person to visit by jumping onto their lap or sitting next to them with his head in their lap, purring.  Fortunately, my friends tend to be honored when he chooses them.  We have been honored to have him for the past nine years, and although he is primarily an indoor cat, we are glad he has had our garden to explore."

"The fenced back garden of our property was landscaped in 2004 by Chris Valenti of J.B. Landscaping.  It features an in ground swimming pool, a waterfall, water lily pond, and a stream adjacent to an enclosed porch.  Its original design used many Asian plants giving it a serene Japanese-like feel.  However, since I am an advocate for planting native species, we have introduced many native species, while maintaining the Asian feeling.  Its natural environment supports diverse wildlife.  Blaze and his companion kitty, Brie, enjoy watching the goldfish and birds, and stalks the resident bullfrog Waldo.  The black snake thankfully stays hidden when cats and people are present. "

Catnip ecstasy. . .

Cautiously stalking black snake

Ok Waldo I know you’re in here somewhere.

Not going after those fish and get myself wet!

So handsome. . .

Almost caught Waldo bullfrog that time!

Under the cool of the Japanese maple.

Love these flower deliveries.

Thanksgiving Day under the winter-blooming camellias.

Outdoors looks like a fun place.