Happy Happy Joy Joy

My Garden to Table in Pottstown, PA, shared this photo of their cat and some Hpapy Cat Farm seed packs. They wrote: "Best find at today's #seedswapday was @Happycatfarm Really looking forward to taste testing these beauties! Sprite is a 4-year=old rescue we got (with his sister, Melody) when we moved to the farm. He's smart, engaging, and overall a very happy cat. "

Cat Grasses and Other Kitty Treats: You Can Grow That!

Guest Post by Claire Splan Cats (and some dogs) love to nibble at grass, but you may not want to encourage them to chew on the lawn, particularly if the lawn's been treated with non-organic amendments or pesticides. Planting a pot of grasses especially for your pets will encourage them to leave other plants alone (particularly housecats that sometimes nibble out of boredom). You can sow seeds of just about any annual cereal grass but many seed companies sell packets of grass mixes especially for cats. These combinations of rye, oats, barley, and wheat are very appealing to cats, especially when you fertilize them with a shot of fish emulsion. Growing Annual Grasses Choose a wide, shallow pot, such as a bulb pot, to sow the seeds in. Fill it up to about an inch from the top with potting soil, then sprinkle the grass seeds over the top. Aim to space the seeds about 1/4 inch apart. Sprinkle about 1/2 inch of potting mix over the seeds and press to get good contact between the soil and seeds. Water well and place where it will get at least a half-day of sun. Keep evenly moist and seeds should germinate within a week. Wait until the grass is a couple inches high before giving it to your cats to nibble. Water regularly and feed with a fish emulsion solution every couple of weeks. If you plant a container every 4 to 6 weeks, you'll have a steady crop of grass to keep your cats happy. Growing Catmint and Catnip While cat grasses are fast-growing and tasty (if you're a cat), they are annuals, which means you need to re-sow seeds in order to keep them continuously growing. Catmint (Nepeta mussinii) and catnip (Nepeta cataria) are herbaceous perennials, meaning that they will die back to the roots in the winter, but re-sprout from the same root system in the spring. They also both contain the organic compound called nepetalactone, which is known to attract felines. In other words, catmint and catnip are recreational drugs for cats. Linus, the undergardener, looking for catnip Catmint and catnip need full sun. Sow seeds in the spring or plant container-grown plants in the spring or fall. They will  grow into mounded plants between 12 and 18 inches high. Catmint in particular makes a nice groundcover. Both plants will develop flower spikes (catmint flowers are lavender and catnip can be white/pink/lavender). When the flowers fade, just cut them back and the plant will be rebloom. Although they tend to be hardy plants that will grow in almost any soil, they do best when fed every couple weeks with a weak organic fertilizer. With regular feeding they'll be better able to withstand the constant nibbling that they will have to endure. Resources There are several companies that offer seed mixes for cat grasses as well as catmint or catnip seeds. My favorites include Renee's Garden Seeds, Burpee, Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply, and Botanical Interests. You can also use pre-seeded disks, available from Botanical Interests, which are more expensive, but easy to use and result in more even sprouting.

REPRINTED FROM http://www.alamedagarden.com

About the Author:  Claire Splan is an Alameda native with a deep appreciation for the joys of gardening in sandy soil and a Mediterranean climate. She says of her blog, An Alameda Garden, "This is where I share my gardening successes and frustrations (of which there are many), as well as news of gardening events and developments in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. I love writing and talking about gardening and am a member of the Garden Writers Association, but I also enjoy writing fiction and other types of nonfiction."

Catnip Seed Art

I've shared cat-inspired seed pack art before (here), but this one is a real masterpiece! I took this photo at the Philadelphia Flower Show 2014, which has a theme of ArtiCulture (the marriage of art and horticulture). And where is that art more evident than on the humble seed pack? This seed art is from Hudson Valley Seed Library. You can buy a print of this art at their web site. Here is how they describe this beautiful portrait:

"Once upon a time, a beloved kitty named Princess was living a regular kitty cat life. Until one day, when, while roaming outdoors, she happened upon a wild patch of an alluring herb. Into her nose flooded the chemical nepetalactone, the source of catnip's power. It bound to her olfactory receptors, causing her to become intoxicated. The natural high she experienced opened her kitty eyes to a wild world she had never known, showing her a new kingdom to reign over. From that day forth, Princess became the ruler of her own imaginative (and, yes, possibly imaginary) world. Celebrate your kitty's reign with the gift of a catnip patch."

The artist, Christina Hess, is a freelance illustrator living in Philadelphia, PA, where she graduated from University of the Arts with a major in illustration. She works digitally as well as in acrylics, oils and mixed media.