Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: lau200 on May 11, 2011, 16:25:35 PM
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currently our back garden is very laissez-faire by which i mean the only gardening that gets done is by our rabbits :rofl: the grass is always left long as the cats enjoy hiding in it and looking for bugs in it but i am abit tired of it looking like a mess. we have decided to get the garden done but i want it as cat friendly as possible as the ferals spend alot of time in it as well as my own cats. but where to start? should we have flags, stones or leave the majority of it as grass. what plants if any, should we look to include? any ideas about cat hideouts to put there- we currently have a large dog kennel for shelter but i'd like more for them to do.
any ideas welcome :)
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You could have a combination of paved areas and grass. I think grassy areas (slightly wild ;) ) are nice to have for the cats. Shingle with flags set out like stepping stones are nice too. Definitely a bamboo or two, ornamental grasses like the ones in the pics (Miscanthus) and buddleas for the butterflies :).
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb234/scruffyjoe/CAT%20GARDENS/Grassmiscanthus.jpg)
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb234/scruffyjoe/CAT%20GARDENS/fencingOct092.jpg)
Tall posts for surveying their world are a must! like this one, just a fence post with shelves fixed up it.
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb234/scruffyjoe/CAT%20GARDENS/Catsonpostsummer073.jpg)
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb234/scruffyjoe/CAT%20GARDENS/Catsonpostsmall.jpg)
Ferns are good, plus evergreens such as Fatsia give a tropical look
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb234/scruffyjoe/Garden/Treefern.jpg)
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Neko highly recommends empty
pond shells sun pits and cold frames Trampolines
Buddleas are brilliant as you/cats can treat them very roughly and they dont mind. theyre quite bendy when the branches are young so good for catching in the wind as well as attracting butterflys. anything that droops from a pot or grows long bits (lambs ear etc) is a fun toy or something they can hide behind as demonstrated so expertly by Neko :shify:
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i think gardens look best when broken up into different area. Hence I have a paved part, a decked part and a shingle part, plus the area where the cat run is. In terms of plants wot Gillian said! Mine is full of grasses, ferns and bamboos, and acers. Plus I then also do the odd pot of fuschias, geraniums etc to brighten things up. Whats in the pots depend on the season
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Gillian, did you have to set your fence posts in concrete? I'd love to do that but renting I don't want to go filling holes with fence posts for the cats!
Although Chilli just sits on mine or the neighbours shed roof, she's safe from Dave up there :evillaugh:
I recommend a veggie patch! I'm getting right into this gardening lark and am loving trying to grow my own veg. I haven't learned the names of any pretty plants yet, other than I have lavender which looks lovely at the moment. I'm also going to try and turn my very patchy patch of grass into a bit of a wildflower area(you can buy ready made seed mixes for this) to attract butterflies etc.
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some fab ideas there :) thanks
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Gillian, did you have to set your fence posts in concrete? I'd love to do that but renting I don't want to go filling holes with fence posts for the cats!
No, I just used a Metpost (well, when I say I......actually I got my next door neigbour to hammer it into the ground ;) ) http://www.metpost.co.uk/mp_spike_1.html