Cat Garden Plants and Source List *

• Alyssum (lobularia alyssum or lobularia maritima "Easter bonnet mix lavender"). Purchased at Turner's, Saline.

• Baby's breath (gypsophila paniculata "pink" and "Bristol fairy"). Purchased at Bordine's, Brighton and Turner's, Saline, respectively.

• Blue fescue grass (festuca glauca). "Rescued" from a client garden, easily available locally.

• Calamint or lesser catmint (calamintha nepeta). Purchased mail order from Colvos Creek Nursery.

• Cat mint (nepeta x faassenii "Walker's Low"). Purchased at Bordine's, Brighton. (Note 4/04: Now known as nepeta racemosa.)

• Cat nip (nepeta cataria). Bought at Plymouth Nursery.

• Cat thyme (teucrium marum). Purchased mail order from Mountain Valley Growers.

• Creeping (trailing) rosemary Santa Barbara (rosmarinus officinalis lavandulaceous). Purchased mail order from Mountain Valley Growers.

• Creeping thyme, red (thymus serpyllum coccineus). Purchased at Bordine's, Brighton.

• Heather (calluna vulgaris "Kerstin"). Purchased mail order from Heaths & Heathers.

• Lamb's ears (stachys byzantina; one "Helen Von Stein" two "silver carpet"). Purchased at Bordine's in Brighton.

• Organic wheat, oat, and rye grass (agropyron, avena, and lolium respectively). Donated by Dexter Mill.

• Valerian (valeriana officianalis). One donated by Aunita Erskine, master gardener; two purchased mail order from Mountain Valley Growers.

* I am not endorsing any nursery per se;
just providing the sources for these plants.

Non-Plant Items in the TLC Cat Garden

• Kitty litter area; contains peat moss and is edged with fragrant creeping thyme.

• Shade structures / places to hang out. These include a plastic toy house, a plastic cheese wedge under the stairs and another smaller cat house. In a non-fenced garden, climbers, wooden crates or anything stackable and climbable would also do well. An outdoor cat tunnel is another idea.

• Saucer with water (a fountain or pond would also work). This is not as important at TLC because of the multiple cat doors. If your house doesn't have a cat door, make sure there is water outside for the cats. Change it every week to avoid mosquito eggs.

• Stepping stones (or sidewalk or brick path) to divide the garden into areas. It looks nice and helps humans access the plants. Cats also love rolling and sitting on cement / rocks / brick.

• Mulch for retaining moisture and limiting weeds. Cedar lasts longer, but cypress is sharper and harder and may be less likely to attract cat digging. Cat digging is more of an issue in a small garden used by many cats (such as TLC) than in a home garden.

Other Plants Cats May Like (Not in the TLC Garden)

This list includes plants for shade (the TLC garden is full sun) and plants not hardy in our zone (which can be planted indoors).

• Barley grass, organic (hordeum vulgare)

• Cast iron plant (aspidistra elatior), zone 8 tropical plant; houseplant only or bring indoors in winter.

• Flax (linum usitatissimum)

• Jacob's ladder (polemonium caeruleum), needs shade.

• Lemon grass (cymbopogon citratus), zone 7; bring indoors in winter.

• Liriope (liriope muscari), zone 6; will need protected area or bring indoors in winter.

• Miscanthis grass (miscanthus sinensis)

• Pennyroyal (mentha pulegium), is a mint, will spread.

• Purple fountain grass (pennisetum setaceum)

• Silver vine (actinidia polygama)

• Striped ribbon grass (phalaris arundinacea), can be invasive.

• Sweetgrass (hierochloe odorata)

• Tufted sedge (carex elata "Bolwes golden"), needs shade.