Feline-friendly flowers for your garden

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Do you have a cat that loves your flowers as much as you do? 

The kind that nibbles and nudges and just can’t leave those lovely stems alone when you bring in a bouquet from the garden? 

Does it make you sad that you can’t have fresh cut flowers in your home? 

Despair no more! With a little careful planning, you can create a garden with plants that are safe for your domesticated furry friend if they happen to be feeling peckish while you’re not looking.

While many favourite perennials and annuals are toxic to animals, there are enough that are safe to fill your garden with cutting varieties throughout the growing season. Just remember that while they are non-toxic, cats may still get ill from eating too many plants, so the behaviour should be discouraged.

For perennials, there are the obvious catmint (Nepeta musinii) and catnip (Nepeta cataria). If something with “cat” in its name wasn’t safe for cats, I wouldn’t trust anything else. You may want to be careful with these behaviour-affecting plants, however, as they may get a little too much attention from your cat! 

Coneflower (Echinacea) is a native perennial that provides food for birds if allowed to go to seed. Placing it within view of a window will offer endless entertainment for a cat watching the visiting birds.

Russian sage (Salvia yangii) is a fragrant woody perennial with a long bloom period and lovely lavender flowers. 

In the same colour palette is globe thistle (Echinops) which flowers early in the summer and lasts long as a cut flower. It’s not as prickly as it sounds, so it’s safe both for humans and cats.

There are numerous cultivars of sage (Salvia) and coral bells (Heuchera) to fill your garden and vases with throughout the summer. 

Roses (Rosa) are also perfectly safe to have around your cat, who can happily stop and smell the roses you bring indoors. 

For fall colour, sedum varieties provide exceptional vase life and add a nice umbel shape to your arrangements. 

One last perennial suggestion for something a little different is the torch lily (Kniphofia) which will stand out in your garden and receive many inquiries.

There is an equally long list of annual cut flowers that are non-toxic to cats. 

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) provide a beautiful spike shape to add to your bouquets and comes in a wide variety of colours. Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are also edible for humans – try them in a salad – and add a nice trailing element. 

Zinnias make a great cut-and-come-again flower and come in some incredible new varieties. There is also sunflower (Helianthus annuus), china aster (Callistephus chinensis), calendula, and scabious (Leucospermum incisum). 

These suggestions are just a few of the many cat-friendly flowering plants you can include in your garden this year. 

Even if you don’t have cats of your own, you can rest assured in gifting a bouquet to a friend with a furry family member.