"A lily or a rose never pretends, and its beauty is that it is what it is." - Jiddu Krishnamurti

Rose Janchevsky shared pics of her two kitties:

Lily and the lilies (above); Pherral in the spring bed (below).

You Turned My Whole World Upside Down

Joe Sherfy shared these pics of his gorgeous Himalayan cat. He wrote, "This was our kitty, Layla, at 6 months. I never got another photo as good as this in her 18 years. I miss her!"

"This was the one time she got out because it had snowed here (Austin, Texas) which is of course unusual."

Joe previously shared an essay by his mother about her series of orange garden cats. (You can read it here.)

Surprise Attack

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by June 🐱 (@junethekitty)

This Instagram video post was shared by junethekitty, who is based in The Netherlands.

They wrote: "Our neighbor cat Brutus is a big fan of the ‘surprise act’ during our ninja battles."

These are two very skilled kitties!

How to Submit YOUR Garden Cat Photos/Stories

Photo by Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash

Being enchanted by both cats and gardens, I decided to start this blog for fun to combine the beauty of both. I know that many of you share my interest in these two passions and I hope you will submit your own images of garden cats with us.

Note that we define a garden as any cultivated spot with plants. This can be anything from a public park to your bedroom windowsill!

Here is how to submit your image:
- Email to KathyJentz (at) gmail (dot) com
- Put "Cats in Gardens" in the subject line
- Attach your image(s)
- In the body of the email include:
  ~ your name or you can choose to be "anonymous"
  ~ the cat's name (if known)
  ~ where the photo was taken (city, state, country)
  ~ if you have a blog, social media, or web site you would like to have linked to in the post
  ~ a paragraph or so about the cat or the garden or both, we love to hear your stories!

Top Garden Cats of 2022

Looking back at the last year, we had many wonderful garden cat photos and stories to share. I love scrolling back and seeing all those fantastic felines. Please keep on sending them in! One interesting statistic I found in my blog analytics is that after the USA, the top countries that visit this site are: Netherlands, Portugal, Uzbekistan , and France. Welcome to all who love cats and gardens!

Here are the top 5 posts of 2022 ranked by the highest number of page views (in countdown order).

5. Shake, Rattle, and Roll

https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2022/01/shake-rattle-and-roll.html
This 5th place spot went to a cat who lives to play with seed packs (and who doesn't?!?!). Mary-Denise Smith, who blogs at www.crumbsonthetable.com, shared the story and her photos of kitty Joey.

4. The Garden Cats of Luis Wain
https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-garden-cats-of-luis-wain.html
The recent movie, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, brought the cat renderings of the British artist Louis Wain (1860-1939) back to popularity again and we spotlighted his garden cats in particular.

3. Wear Your Green for St. Gertrude!

https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2022/03/wear-your-green-for-st-gertrude.html
This post is a perennial favorite and is about Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, who is the patron saint of Cats AND Gardening. Did you know the 17th of March is her Saint's Day?

2. The Orange Cat Diaries

https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-orange-cats-diaries.html

This charming essay by Josephine Sherfy about her love of orange garden cats was sent to us by her son, Joe Sherfy.

1. Mango Ripple - a Truly Delicious Treat!

https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2022/03/mango-ripple-truly-delicious-treat.html
Lara Kris Watson shared lots of photos of her kitties Mango and Ripple. They are both rescue cats and neighborhood characters.

Do you agree with the popular vote? What were your favorites this year?

A Garden Cat's Holiday Wish List: Gifts for Outdoor-loving Cats and Kittens

An updated Garden Cat's Holiday Wish List: Gifts for Outdoor-loving Cats from our 2019 post.

Disclosure: Clicking on these links and then ordering anything from Amazon may put a few pennies in the Cats in Gardens blog bank account. This will not cost you any extra on your purchases. Thank you for anything you can direct our way.

Stumped for what to get your outdoor-loving cat for a holiday or birthday gift or just because you feel like spoiling them a bit?

Here are 5 suggestions that are sure to make your garden kitty purr-purr-purr.

1. 
The catio 

will make your kitty the envy of the neighborhood and keep him safe and the birds too!

2. 
If your kitty loves to chew on every houseplant you have, grow her this alternate -- a safe pot of fresh cat grass all her own to munch on.

3. 
This safety collar is a great way to ensure your garden kitty doesn't get into danger and has jingly bell so that any prey can hear them coming.

4. 
This heating pad is the purr-fect thing for that barn cat or any kitty who prefers to sleep in an unheated space.

5. 
This sling pet carrier is all the rage now and is worth a try if you have a sociable feline who might like to go on errands to the garden center with you.




Finally, one bonus gift suggestion, for you -- if you have lost one of your garden kitties, this cat-angel is a wonderful way to remember them. I have one placed near the spot that my late Chantilly loved to sun herself by my water garden.

If YOU are a gardener or know one, here is a list of great gift ideas for them (and yourself!): 
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/12/holiday-gifts-for-gardeners-top.html

   We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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A Sweet Treat

Toffee shares space with the cacti and tropicals.

 

Louise Clarke shared this pictures of her indoor feline. Toffee is a 6-year-old adopted from Providence Animal Center. She was a birthday present to me. She is an indoor cat that gets along with Mojito, my Havanese puppy. 

Louise is a professional horticulturist and a principal of Verdant Earth Educators LLC (https://www.verdanteartheducators.com/).

Toffee soaking up some sun.