Little Miss Figgy

A few weeks ago, my garden club visited the Plants Alive! plant store. There, I met Figgy, the adorable (and adored) resident store cat. I asked the staff to share her story and  Amari Hemmings sent in these photos and wrote:

Meet Figgy, our lovable greenhouse cat and furry mascot of Plants Alive! Rescued from Animal Services Baltimore County by the kind-hearted Becky Sass-Crews, Figgy found her forever home amongst the lush foliage of our greenhouse. This whiskered wonder has since flourished in her new environment, charming everyone who enters our verdant sanctuary.

Figgy's days are filled with the sweet aroma of blossoms and the gentle rustle of leaves, providing her with the perfect playground for her curious spirit. An expert in plant navigation, she loves to explore every nook and cranny of the greenhouse, ensuring that no leaf goes unturned. Her favorite pastime, however, is bonding with our dedicated employees, who have come to treasure her delightful antics and friendly purrs.

Customers visiting our greenhouse are always thrilled to encounter Figgy, as she warmly greets them with a flick of her tail and an inquisitive gaze. As she rubs up against their legs and weaves through the foliage, Figgy never fails to bring a smile to their faces. She has become an integral part of our team and a beloved ambassador of our establishment.

Follow our instagram to keep up with Figgy - @plantsalive

Popi Cat

This is Popi the Kind Earth security cat. The photos were taken by John Mark Courtney, owner of Kind Earth Growers LLC, growers of native wetland, aquatic and dry site perennials to build habitat diversity, based in Ottsville, PA. John writes that, "He’s my best employee! Here are some pics of him doing various greenhouse tasks."

"He was one of four strays we caught, fixed, and vaccinated in September 2020 and released here as vole control. we started with Popi, Clover, Boogie Stardust (she was a special one), and another that left too fast to name."

"Popi disappeared two days after bringing him here, leaving his two sisters behind. When he reappeared he quickly took to protecting Boogie and allowing her to eat, as the weeks went on and increasing aggression from Clover toward Boogie, he kicked her out! Boogie and Popi cohabitate beautifully. They hunted together, snuggled, and lived the life. Unfortunately, Boog was a sickly cat and had to be put to sleep last January. Popi spent days morning on my lap and then in my office chair, but during the day he still performed his security duty monitoring all the greenhouses and surroundings for voles. He gets endless attention from the Kind Earthlings here and follows me around along side my Australian Cattle Dog, Jackson. He wants to be besties with Jackson, but Jack is still not sure why he is told not to chase him." 

Inventory managment.

 JOhn 

Timmy Cat

I have been following @FloretFlower on Instagram just to get glimpses of this beautiful garden cat named Timmy. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

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Evening farm walk with Timmy. The ranunculus only have another week or so before the heat shuts them down so I'm stuffing the cooler with as many as I can. This book is going to be so freaking beautiful! #floretbook2 #growfloret

A post shared by Erin Benzakein - Floret (@floretflower) on May 25, 2018 at 6:40pm PDT

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Over the past ten days, the team and I worked around the clock reading hundreds of scholarship applications submitted from all over the world. A record breaking 3,107 individuals from 65 different countries and all 50 states applied for 8 prized spots in our upcoming Floret Online Workshop. The entries were beyond inspiring and left me so excited for the future of the flower industry - on a global level. If you need a little inspiration, be sure to head to the blog (link in profile) and read a heartwarming post brimming with beautiful stories and interesting details. I would love your help in congratulating our lucky winners over on the blog! #floretscholarship

A post shared by Erin Benzakein - Floret (@floretflower) on Oct 1, 2018 at 6:30pm PDT

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A favorite from last week. Timmy + Anemones = Pure Magic✨ #growfloret

A post shared by Erin Benzakein - Floret (@floretflower) on Mar 15, 2018 at 7:28am PDT

Pennock's Cats

Jenny Rose Carey, senior director of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) Meadowbrook 

Farm in Jenkintown, PA, shared information on the PHS Meadowbrook cats. 

She said, "The ginger cat is Rocket. The black cat is Jug Head. They are very cute. Rocket sometimes follows tour groups around the garden. On a recent Thursday, I was giving a flower arranging workshop and he came to check it out."

Meadowbrook Farm was designed and created by J. Liddon Pennock, Jr. (1913-2003), and remains his garden legacy.

Photo sources: PHSonline.org and Yelp.

Warning: Invasive Species

Thanksgiving Farmshttp://thanksgivingfarmandgarden.com/ is a 57-acre family-run farm in Adamstown, MD. We have a 40+ greenhouse operation. Specializing in the unusual, CSA, produce, and orchard. 

 

They recently shared this photo and warning on their Facebook page:

 

"Cat-nap -- it's very invasive. Grows in sun or shade depending on the season. You don't plant it, it plants itself and that is usually on the most expensive flower in your garden and/or container. Hungry feeder and likes lots of water. Has briars/claws. Also comes in Dog-nap. This variety is much larger, with more destruction. The Dog-nap has a tendency to uproot vegetation in order to plant it's self. Both can/should be transplanted indoors to overwinter."

Toasted Bulbs

Sarah O'Neil, also known as Sarah the Gardener, submitted this photo of her cat: Toast.

 

"We live near Waiuku in New Zealand I have a blog: https://gardeningkiwi.wordpress.com/ and a YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/gardeningkiwi/  where Toast is a frequent star (when she chooses to be!) She also appears on my Facebook page from time to time."

"Toast is 12-years-old and she loves to hang out in the garden, and is often not far away from where I'm gardening." 

"Cut Your Own" Cats

Maxwell and cut flowers

Josh Flynn of Wollam Gardens, an 11-acre, commercial cut flower farm in Jeffersonton, VA, submitted these two flower farm kitties:

Maxwell - orange, 14/15 years old, adopted, he was picked up as a friend for another cat that was currently living at the farm and the farm had a problem with turning away cats in need of a home.

    Max loves to sleep in our rooting chambers and is generally pretty lazy/lounging around all the time. The trick with him is that he absolutely loves to be pet and when we are seeding flats or doing cuttings he just won't leave you alone, walks on the flats, etc. Yet, if you pet him, sometimes if you stop before he wanted you to he'll give you a slap — claws and all. Also, Max loves crates!

Lyla - black, 5-6 years old, adopted, she was found at a local junkyard and definitely needed a home. Lyla previously couldn't be picked up or even pet, but has since come around. She tries to sneak into the house, but if she ever gets in the house, she panics and runs around looking for a way out. Lyla will also follow us around the farm and lay on the beds when we're planting them or jumping between tall flowers when we're cutting them. She is head mouser and is some variety of miniature cat where she always has the appearance of a kitten.  

Both of them are very sweet and do a great job on the farm. They live in the greenhouse during the winter and can be found anywhere when the weather is nice. The only problem we have with them is they like to use our lily and bulb crates that we're forcing as a bathroom. There have been many cats on the farm over the years, but Max and Lyla make a good pair. 

Max and Lyla on greenhouse bench

Max in a crate

Lyla on weed cloth and seedlings

Duck-Duck-Goose!

Here is a  second submission from Holly Budd of Sunderland, MD. (See her first submission here.) She says, "This is Sneazer in the garden. Actually in the greenhouse."

Holly is President/CEO of Williams & Heintz Map Corporation, a map printing company that was started by her great grandfather.

Cyrano: Every woman needs a little madness in her life.

Carol Allen said:
"Cyrano enjoys the greenhouse more than I do! He says, '...now, I smell chipmunk. Where did he go?'"

Carol is a self-described plant-a-holic, professional horticulturist and landscape designer. She lives in Germantown, MD, with several cats and lots of orchids.