The Elusive Butterfly

From Hunter Ten Broeck, Co-Owner/Operator of WaterWise Landscapes Incorporated in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

This is Taj doing some serious communing with the local flora and fauna. Taj recently passed away -- may he be chasing butterflies in kitty heaven.

Parade Float

 “This kitten, perhaps, is wondering how he is going to get ashore without wetting his feet,” opines the note accompanying a 1935 Alfred T. Palmer photo from the Philippines. “But he is perfectly safe so long as he stays aboard this floating giant of the vegetable world, the ‘Queen Victoria’ (Victoria regia) water lily.”

The tiny cat’s perfect safety wasn’t ever in question. Now more commonly called the giant water lily—reaching eight feet across and staying afloat by means of a substantial amount of air trapped in the spaces between its ribs—the plant is strongest at its center and can hold up to a hundred pounds.
— Johnna Rizzo

From NationalGeographic.com

Photograph by Alfred T. Palmer, National Geographic Image Collection

Leaves or Squirrels?

 Marie Mims Butler, zoo horticulturalist at the Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk, VA, submitted this photo of her cats (from left-to-right) Mew, Sasha, and Beau. Marie says, "I see beautiful autumn leaves. Kitties see SQUIRREL."

Sparky Smells an Arum

Sparky and the Arum

Alice Nicolson wrote: "Sparky has just smelled the A. dioscoridis... this was in our old garden in Arlington, VA."

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.

Greenhouse Greeter

Kylee of "Our Little Acre" fame and garden book author submitted this cute black-and-white garden center kitty.

"Moo Shu was a stray that showed up at Young's Greenhouse in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Young's is the oldest greenhouse in Ft. Wayne -- family-owned sinced 1873!

"Moo Shu lives the good life at the greenhouse and was very friendly during Jenny's and my visit there, when we were gathering plants for our new book, Indoor Plant Decor."


If your garden center, home garden, public garden, or greenhouse has a resident cat or regular cat visitor, please share him/her with us!

Catnip Addiction

Brenda Parent  of the Access to the Garden blog  posted this photo of her cat barred from accessing the catnip plant in her yard due to over-browsing.

Brenda's blog is an awesome page devoted to making every garden, whether private or public, more accessible and usable by all people. The page will appeal to anyone with a disability, anyone getting older, or to anyone who enjoys gardening