Not totally OT: gardening help

I know virtually nothing about gardening and now I have a little garden
and don't just want to watch it turn into a jungle (though I like it to
be a little wild-looking). I would like to plant some kind of vine or
creeper that could climb onto the walls of the enclosure. Can anyone

Takayuki...

That sounds like it would be a fun project. Plus, you'll be safe from
that glove stealing cat, since you're on a different continent. You

jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt...

LOL, I'm sure Marina is very relieved, now that you've pointed that out. :)

Actually, now that I think of it, perhaps being on a different continent
*isn't* enough to provide complete safety from the garden-glove stealing
cat. He seems a very determined sort.

(For that matter, she's not really on a different continent... they're
both in Burope, no? Except that Finland is on the Buropean mainland.)

Takayuki...

I thought Willy was somewhere in NY state? There have been several
garden glove stealing cats over the years though, so you might have
been thinking of another one. From the picture, it looked to me like
Caliban might be a distant relative. :)

jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt...

Oops, you're right. That cat was in New Jersey. For some reason, I was
misremembering it as coming from the UK. Maybe there was an item-stealing
cat in the UK? I remember some story about a cat who liked to go into
neighbors' homes, take all sorts of stuff, and bring it back to his/her
own house. That cat's humans also would put the items out in front of
their home with a sign that explained the situation. Apparently this is

Helen Miles...

Lily once managed to steal a packet of Danish Bacon from my neighbour
and brought it in through the cat flap. I didn't have the guts to tell
my neighbour. Sir William, when he was alive also made it his business
to steal cakes and what not from my neighbours.

Helen M

not an isolated behavior.

should ask your breeder niece what kind of plants she would like to
photograph the next time she comes over. :)

Adrian A...

But who knows how far a cat can teleport? ;o)

John F. Eldredge...

Cinders' teleportation seems to be one-way. She can teleport her way
into closets, but has to have assistance getting out again.

suggest one that would do well in our climate (I'm in Finland)? I'd like

pistor...

Can't help with suggestions, but found this site that may be helpful:

Cheryl Perkins...

I'm no expert, but one of the clematis, jackmanii, is winter hardy in my
part of Canada. I've only seen it grown from small plants, and in my
experience it needs a lot of sun and takes a couple years to get
established. It can do quite well, and is attractive.

It's hardy in zones 4 and 5 in Canada, and although it's easy to find out
what zone a Canadian place is in, and what zones most garden plants grow
it, it seems quite difficult to find out what Canadian plant hardiness
zone Helsinki is in! The US has a similar system, and what do you know, so
does Europe!

It's always good to get advice from people who actually run nurseries in
your local area - *not* a well-meaning teenager in a mass market store
that sells a few plants in the spring!

it to be easy to plant from seed, because I want to plant it in front of
the enclosure, where the space is too small for me to go in and dig
holes for plants. It would definitely have to be non-toxic to the cats,
because though I plan to plant it outside the enclosure, the leaves may
find their way inside it. I would also love it if it stayed green in
winter, but that's probably too much to ask (it goes to -20- -30 C here
in winter; -5- -20 F).

I know there have been web pages listing plants that are toxic to cats,
but I can't find any of them now.

Christine K....

I don't have any suggestions for anything creepy... I mean any creeping
plants for you, but I'd guess one of those large gardening shops
(Plantagen etc.) should be able to help you. And this link should help
you on the toxicity issue:

We're actually in the same situation, know nothing about gardening and
suddenly have an actual yard, or at least a bit of grass around the
apartment. So I'm learning too.

sriddles...

I probably can't help you with suggestions, since our climate is so
horribly hot and dry. I did plant cypress vine seed this spring, and
they're growing all over the place now. Very pretty lacy, airy leaves
and bright red little trumpet-shaped blooms. Sweet peas are lovely and
smell heavenly. Moonflowers and morning glories grow *fast* and climb.
(I don't know about morning glories; they could possibly be toxic).
English Ivy stays green in the winter, but it's so invasive. That's the
problem I've found with fast-growing stuff; it takes over and then I
wish I hadn't planted it!!
Bootsie says you can't go wrong with catnip seed.