Randy Wells, who gardens in Illinois, posted this photo on Twitter/X with the caption, "The neighbor’s cat, Socks has committed to watching over the Sunflowers and guarding against anything that could damage them 
."
Midwest Julie replied: "This cat spends so much time at your place that it’s yours, let’s be honest."
Last month, I was touring gardens in and around Buffalo, New York, with the Garden Fling.
I am always on the lookout for garden cats during these events and Buffalo did not disappoint. Here are a few of the kitties I saw along the way.
Pictured at top is Socks, who lives at Murray's Hosta Farm. He was a bit shy, but did pose nicely for this photo.
You know how when you travel, you miss your kitties at home the most. So I was grateful when this one-eyed Jack let me pet him:
This kitty was napping in the shade on a hot afternoon while his owners chatted up all the garden visitors:
There were lots of buffalos in the gardens we saw, of course, but also many flamingos and dragons as well. Not surprisingly, many gardens had cat art, cat sculptures, cat cut-outs, etc. This cat-friendly garden had cat silhouettes on back garden entrance gate:
And it wouldn't be an urban garden tour without some window cats too!
See more garden pics from the Buffalo Fling 2026 at:
https://www.facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine/photos_albums
Here are two store cats that I met back in April during the Azalea Society of America conference in Athens, Georgia. They live at Cofer's Home & Garden (https://cofers.com/). I believe the female tabby is Star and the male orange is Oliver.
In the bottom picture, Oliver is inspecting my purchases there that day. I planted this trio of strawberries in a basket and have gotten berries -- but not had the chance to eat any! The birds or some other critters are getting to them right as they ripen. My two current kitties (Kimba and Fancy) are both indoor cats, so I'm hoping a neighborhood "Oliver" comes along to protect the berries soon...
