The Winter Sun

Garden author and speaker Marianne Wilburn shared this photo of: "a winter day off for three garden cats."

And who doesn't deserve a nap in the sun more than our hardworking feline garden workers?

You can see Marianne's previous cat photo shares here:
https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/search?q=marianne

Piper nigrum

Garden writer Marianne Wilburn has shared her two other cats with us - Tiger Lily and Daisy.

Now it is sweet little Pepper's turn. She was recently profiled on Marianne's blog by her dog, Mungo.

Mungo said, "I’m a Jack Russell Terrier. I know it and they knew it way before there was any talk of bringing me into the family. That doesn’t mean good things for cats.

But as a bonus, it doesn’t mean good things for rats, voles, moles, groundhogs, skunks (That was, upon reflection, a mistake.), and various other varmints, critters, and freeloaders that roam the land in search of an easy food ticket.

They like cats – though They didn’t have any at the time. So, it was decided that I would not be allowed to spend my puppy-dom basking in the one-on-one attention that puppies deserve, and instead I would get the raw deal of sharing it with a kitten.

That kitten was Pepper.

The Girl picked her out of a litter of five other black balls of ‘pick-me-I’m-so-freaking-cute’ because she had blue eyes. They brought her home and we stayed on opposite sides of a bathroom door sniffing each other for a week. I had her number from the very first sniff. A people-pleaser and all around goody-two-shoes.

As soon as that sneaky cat felt safe she changed the color of her eyes – total bait and switch – and my cat purgatory began in earnest.

She’s one of the Three Untouchables now. I cannot tell you what it does to the self-esteem of a proud JRT covered in cat-smell (not cat-blood) when he meets other terriers on a walk.  Like I said – A Raw Deal.

As cats go, she’s pretty chill. She knows just what They want – soft fur (whatever), sleek coat (again, whatever), and the ability to sit in front of a ball without twitching (wha…nevermind).  She hangs out at parties and gets to sit in laps that will have her and I don’t see her getting pushed off the couch in the middle of the day.

That’s petism, if anyone cares."

Mungo and Pepper

Princess of the Piccaninny Tribe

This is Tiger Lily, another kitty living with Marianne Willburn, author of the brand new book, Big Dreams, Small Garden, and a columnist/blogger at www.smalltowngardener.com. Last week she shared these photos of her kitty, Daisy.

This week, she writes:

"The naming of Tiger Lily and her sister Daisy still gives me hope that gardening may take hold in my daughter’s heart – for it was she that named the pair of them, these friendly little ‘barn cats’ that spend as much time in the house as they do near the barn. Tiger Lily is a tabby, and a gabby tabby at that – a more vociferous cat I have never owned. Thankfully (for her) she is also sweet-natured and a good huntress. "

"Rather inconveniently for my Jack Russell Terrier Mungo, she also believes herself to be his girlfriend. Watching her swish her tail against his bemused but unflinching face is a regular occurrence around here.  Mungo is generally not amused, however I have caught them on more than one occasion spooning up on the dog bed."

Neil the Great Dixter Cat

 

Garden writer Marianne Willburn took this photo of Neil the Great Dixter Cat while she was attended the garden symposium there this past week. She says, "Neil the Dixter cat. Rescued as a kitten from Kabul. He followed us around the garden on the gentlest of evenings."

If you are not familiar with Great Dixter, it is a legendary garden in the UK. It has "an historic house, a garden, a centre of education, and a place of pilgrimage for horticulturists from across the world. Great Dixter was the family home of gardener and gardening writer Christopher Lloyd – it was the focus of his energy and enthusiasm and fuelled over 40 years of books and articles."

And HOW did I not know there is a "Cat Garden" there! Head Gardener, Fergus Garrett describes the Cat Garden: "This area has a damp meadow containing marginals such as Caltha polypetala amongst vigorous perennials such as Ranunculus acris ‘Stevenii’ and Symphythum ‘Romanian Red’. Old fashioned lilacs sit on the higher level amongst meadow cranesbills (Geranium pratense) and Fritillaria meleagris. Ceanothus ‘Puget Blue’ hugs the building opposite a sprawling Tamarix tetrandra."

On top of that there is an illustrated book all about Neil! It is called: "The Journey of Neil The Great Dixter Cat  you can order it via our Amazon link at: https://amzn.to/3a3D1lc (we may get a few pennies, but it will not effect your purchase price). 

The book tell the story of the "loving men who rescued her (Neil means 'champion' in Irish), and brought her to live out her days in the most beautiful wild garden in the world -- the Great Dixter Garden. Honey Moga, the author, plays a role in the story and her introduction is also fully illustrated, including her dream of being an author after her husband walks out and leaves her alone with nine children. Inspiring, uplifting and true, this is a unique history and a beautifully illustrated depiction of the magical garden where the courageous cat Neil now resides happily."

Fresh as a...

"Zen kitty."

Marianne Willburn, author of the brand new book, Big Dreams, Small Garden, and a columnist/blogger at www.smalltowngardener.com, shared these photos of her kitty, Daisy.

She writes, "Daisy came to us with her tabby sister, Tiger Lily, as a kitten. They were both meant to be barn cats, but I made the mistake of letting my daughter pick out the friendliest kittens in the litter. Daisy now spends a good deal of the winter inside, but of our three cats, is the one who wants to be outside the most, hunting voles. She is fluffy, friendly, and both she and her sister will follow you down the lane when you’re taking a walk – a mile if necessary. Her unusual facial markings have earned her the nickname “Twoface” and this is an apt name in more ways than one. Sweet but deadly – friendly but aloof – barn cat or house cat. That’s our Daisy."

"Daisy believes my office chair is her office chair.  All the time."