Cat in the Catmint

I've been really impressed with the Walker's Low catmint that I bought from High Country Gardens. Gideon likes it too. I planted three tiny mail-order plants in May. Five months later, they've grown into perfect 18-inch mounds.


I've read that cats eat catnip but only browse and smell catmint. So far, this has been our experience and the arrangement has worked out well since catmint is the more attractive of the two plants, yet it's still something that Gideon can enjoy. (You can see on the right side of this picture where the dogs stepped on my plant again).


When you buzz catmint with a line trimmer, you get a nice camphor smell and you encourage more blooms. I haven't had a big flush of blooms this year, but now that my plants are established, I'm expecting a good show in the spring.

Cousin Gunner

I find that people who love plants usually love pets. It's true at our house. Normally, the two loves complement each other like sugar and spice. But when your pet is a year-and-a-half old Labrador and her cousin Gunner comes to play, the combination is more oil in the Gulf - a total disaster.


To keep this Autumn Joy sedum looking full, I was going to prune it after it bloomed. The dogs must have known that I was having second thoughts so they nipped it in the bud, literally. Thanks girls.


Instinctively they knew that catmint blooms best when it's sheared back. To goad me into this chore, the pups gave one of my plants a good smoosh.


By herself, Bailey is an angel around plants, but when she's with Cousin Gunner, they are a set of Tasmanian devils.


After a puppy play date, most plants aren't any worse for the wear, but until the ones in my new bed get a little bigger, I'll have to do a better job protecting them.

Bloom Day - Shades of Purple

Apparently, in garden blogging culture, the 15th of every month is Bloom Day, when bloggers share photos of flowers in bloom. For my first Bloom Day, I chose the theme "shades of purple."
 

This Purple Shamrock or Oxalis Regnelli is a pass along plant from MomMom. I love the texture that you can see on the leaves. If you have flickr, it's worth the extra click to view the enlarged photo.
 

Black and Blue Salvia (the most striking bloomer in my garden right now) and Catmint. It's hard to see the individual Catmint flowers, but their shape echos the salvia's (a good principle of garden design). Both of these plants are in my backyard border.

I planted this Larkspur from seed. It's well past its peak, but it still has a few blooms. I haven't pulled it up yet because I am waiting for all of the seed pods to spill their contents. The seedlings that sprout in the winter will be the reward for my patience now.

And finally, Dwarf Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides).
Happy Bloom Day!