On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:58:18 +0100, Spider wrote:

Alas, we have. Squished! Not that I'm very precious about lillies. I
do love them, but they're cat killers so I can't take the risk with my
cats. My few lillies are in pots where the cats can't get to them.

The main risk to cats being pollen, I nip out the anthers (just hold a
container underneath and snip them off into it). This has the added
benefit of prolonging flowering. I don't think the absence of the
reproductive bits makes the flowers look bad. There are also
"cat-friendly" lilies available (J Parkers sell them) which do not
produce pollen at all.

--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
URGling from the other end of Swansea Bay where it's
unusually just like Dave's end, only better

On 22/06/2013 18:14, Jake wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:58:18 +0100, wrote:

Alas, we have. Squished! Not that I'm very precious about lillies. I
do love them, but they're cat killers so I can't take the risk with my
cats. My few lillies are in pots where the cats can't get to them.

The main risk to cats being pollen, I nip out the anthers (just hold a
container underneath and snip them off into it). This has the added
benefit of prolonging flowering. I don't think the absence of the
reproductive bits makes the flowers look bad. There are also
"cat-friendly" lilies available (J Parkers sell them) which do not
produce pollen at all.





Thanks, Jake. I know I could do that but, for me, the anthers are
attractive and very much part of the lily. I also know there are
double-flowered lilies which *ought* to be safe as they have no anthers.

The real complication is that one of my cats thinks she's a caterpillar.
She goes around the garden chewing plants. With Lilies, she couldn't
learn from her mistake. She'd have an awful, lingering death. I'd
rather live without lilies. Thanks for the thought, tho'.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 2013-06-22 17:51:24 +0100, David Hill said:

On 22/06/2013 17:30, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-06-22 14:31:29 +0100, said:

Sacha wrote:
Apparently they will feed on other aromatic plants such as lavender
and
thyme. Handsome little critters with those shiny stripes but I'd
prefer
not to find them munching their way through half my herbs. :/

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?pid=555

I must say I'd never heard of them till this thread, and so far
never seen them
David @ a damp and windy side of Swansea bay.

Thank goodnes! I thought it was only me.

I hadn't heard of asparagus beetle until recently.

Er.....

Now I'm getting worried, the lily beetle decimates lilies, the Rosemary
beetle is hitting Rosemary plants,
What is the Stag beetle up to?

Saddling up......!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Sacha wrote:
I hadn't heard of asparagus beetle until recently.
Er.....

?

On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:51:24 +0100, David Hill
wrote:

On 22/06/2013 17:30, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-06-22 14:31:29 +0100, said:

Sacha wrote:
Apparently they will feed on other aromatic plants such as lavender
and
thyme. Handsome little critters with those shiny stripes but I'd
prefer
not to find them munching their way through half my herbs. :/

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?pid=555

I must say I'd never heard of them till this thread, and so far
never seen them
David @ a damp and windy side of Swansea bay.

Thank goodnes! I thought it was only me.

I hadn't heard of asparagus beetle until recently.

Er.....

Now I'm getting worried, the lily beetle decimates lilies, the Rosemary
beetle is hitting Rosemary plants,
What is the Stag beetle up to?

Making lots of ruts in your formerly flat lawn?

--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
URGling from the other end of Swansea Bay where it's
unusually just like Dave's end, only better

On 23/06/2013 08:54, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 18:22:37 +0100, wrote:

On 22/06/2013 18:14, Jake wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:58:18 +0100, wrote:

Alas, we have. Squished! Not that I'm very precious about lillies. I
do love them, but they're cat killers so I can't take the risk with my
cats. My few lillies are in pots where the cats can't get to them.

The main risk to cats being pollen, I nip out the anthers (just hold a
container underneath and snip them off into it). This has the added
benefit of prolonging flowering. I don't think the absence of the
reproductive bits makes the flowers look bad. There are also
"cat-friendly" lilies available (J Parkers sell them) which do not
produce pollen at all.





Thanks, Jake. I know I could do that but, for me, the anthers are
attractive and very much part of the lily. I also know there are
double-flowered lilies which *ought* to be safe as they have no anthers.

The real complication is that one of my cats thinks she's a caterpillar.
She goes around the garden chewing plants.

All our cats have done that. It happens when they want to make
themselves sick.



Yes, I know all about cat sick, Martin; I have a serial vomiter :~(.
Most cats, however, chose to eat grass (even the decorative kinds), but
Panther likes to chew leaves on my favourite rose, a deutzia, comfrey
and others. I frequently have to tell her to leave a poisonous plant
alone. I can't risk her even trying lily flavour.




With Lilies, she couldn't
learn from her mistake. She'd have an awful, lingering death. I'd
rather live without lilies. Thanks for the thought, tho'.


--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 2013-06-23 11:29:24 +0100, Spider said:

On 23/06/2013 08:54, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 18:22:37 +0100, wrote:

On 22/06/2013 18:14, Jake wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:58:18 +0100, wrote:

Alas, we have. Squished! Not that I'm very precious about lillies. I
do love them, but they're cat killers so I can't take the risk with my
cats. My few lillies are in pots where the cats can't get to them.

The main risk to cats being pollen, I nip out the anthers (just hold a
container underneath and snip them off into it). This has the added
benefit of prolonging flowering. I don't think the absence of the
reproductive bits makes the flowers look bad. There are also
"cat-friendly" lilies available (J Parkers sell them) which do not
produce pollen at all.





Thanks, Jake. I know I could do that but, for me, the anthers are
attractive and very much part of the lily. I also know there are
double-flowered lilies which *ought* to be safe as they have no anthers.

The real complication is that one of my cats thinks she's a caterpillar.
She goes around the garden chewing plants.

All our cats have done that. It happens when they want to make
themselves sick.



Yes, I know all about cat sick, Martin; I have a serial vomiter :~(.
Most cats, however, chose to eat grass (even the decorative kinds), but
Panther likes to chew leaves on my favourite rose, a deutzia, comfrey
and others. I frequently have to tell her to leave a poisonous plant
alone. I can't risk her even trying lily flavour.

Is the other cat called Aga? ;-) To be serious, this cat does sound a
worry! Is this sort of thing a common trait in cats? We're a 'dog
family', so I know little about aberrational cat behaviour!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2013-06-23 10:37:48 +0100, said:

Sacha wrote:
I hadn't heard of asparagus beetle until recently.
Er.....

?

Neither had I heard of asparagus beetle until recently. Recently being
yesterday when you wrote the above! All our asparagus having been
drowned last year, this isn't a problem I'm likely to encounter,
either. ;-(
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 23/06/2013 15:22, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-06-23 11:29:24 +0100, Spider said:

On 23/06/2013 08:54, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 18:22:37 +0100, wrote:

On 22/06/2013 18:14, Jake wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:58:18 +0100, wrote:

Alas, we have. Squished! Not that I'm very precious about lillies. I
do love them, but they're cat killers so I can't take the risk
with my
cats. My few lillies are in pots where the cats can't get to them.

The main risk to cats being pollen, I nip out the anthers (just hold a
container underneath and snip them off into it). This has the added
benefit of prolonging flowering. I don't think the absence of the
reproductive bits makes the flowers look bad. There are also
"cat-friendly" lilies available (J Parkers sell them) which do not
produce pollen at all.





Thanks, Jake. I know I could do that but, for me, the anthers are
attractive and very much part of the lily. I also know there are
double-flowered lilies which *ought* to be safe as they have no
anthers.

The real complication is that one of my cats thinks she's a
caterpillar.
She goes around the garden chewing plants.

All our cats have done that. It happens when they want to make
themselves sick.



Yes, I know all about cat sick, Martin; I have a serial vomiter :~(.
Most cats, however, chose to eat grass (even the decorative kinds),
but Panther likes to chew leaves on my favourite rose, a deutzia,
comfrey and others. I frequently have to tell her to leave a poisonous
plant alone. I can't risk her even trying lily flavour.

Is the other cat called Aga? ;-) To be serious, this cat does sound a
worry! Is this sort of thing a common trait in cats? We're a 'dog
family', so I know little about aberrational cat behaviour!




:~))! No, she's called Cheetah. She's the puker in the family. All
cats need to vomit hairballs from time to time, but Cheetah does have a
bit of a problem with it. She's otherwise very well, but as a
Torteshell cat she's naturally a bit neurotic. I don't have a problem
cleaning up after her. In fact, I praise her if she's got rid of lots
of hair. Richard finds it hard to live with, not least the fact that I
examine the fallout for signs of hair or other ejected items.

We have a special name for this puke: it is called an 'angel'. This
stems from the fact that I was dotty about Phantom of the Opera, in
which there is a song "The Angel of Music" ... or the angel of mew
sick!! :~)). Ged it?! It's certainly nicer when one has company to say
"there's an angel in the kitchen". Indeed, a friend of mine thought it
was great and has adopted the expression.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 2013-06-23 17:05:58 +0100, Spider said:

On 23/06/2013 15:22, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-06-23 11:29:24 +0100, Spider said:

On 23/06/2013 08:54, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 18:22:37 +0100, wrote:

On 22/06/2013 18:14, Jake wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:58:18 +0100, wrote:

Alas, we have. Squished! Not that I'm very precious about lillies. I
do love them, but they're cat killers so I can't take the risk
with my
cats. My few lillies are in pots where the cats can't get to them.

The main risk to cats being pollen, I nip out the anthers (just hold a
container underneath and snip them off into it). This has the added
benefit of prolonging flowering. I don't think the absence of the
reproductive bits makes the flowers look bad. There are also
"cat-friendly" lilies available (J Parkers sell them) which do not
produce pollen at all.





Thanks, Jake. I know I could do that but, for me, the anthers are
attractive and very much part of the lily. I also know there are
double-flowered lilies which *ought* to be safe as they have no
anthers.

The real complication is that one of my cats thinks she's a
caterpillar.
She goes around the garden chewing plants.

All our cats have done that. It happens when they want to make
themselves sick.



Yes, I know all about cat sick, Martin; I have a serial vomiter :~(.
Most cats, however, chose to eat grass (even the decorative kinds),
but Panther likes to chew leaves on my favourite rose, a deutzia,
comfrey and others. I frequently have to tell her to leave a poisonous
plant alone. I can't risk her even trying lily flavour.

Is the other cat called Aga? ;-) To be serious, this cat does sound a
worry! Is this sort of thing a common trait in cats? We're a 'dog
family', so I know little about aberrational cat behaviour!




:~))! No, she's called Cheetah. She's the puker in the family. All
cats need to vomit hairballs from time to time, but Cheetah does have a
bit of a problem with it. She's otherwise very well, but as a
Torteshell cat she's naturally a bit neurotic. I don't have a problem
cleaning up after her. In fact, I praise her if she's got rid of lots
of hair. Richard finds it hard to live with, not least the fact that I
examine the fallout for signs of hair or other ejected items.

Yeeeessss. On balance, Richard has my sympathy there!

We have a special name for this puke: it is called an 'angel'. This
stems from the fact that I was dotty about Phantom of the Opera, in
which there is a song "The Angel of Music" ... or the angel of mew
sick!! :~)). Ged it?! It's certainly nicer when one has company to say
"there's an angel in the kitchen". Indeed, a friend of mine thought it
was great and has adopted the expression.

I know a dog-breeder who used to call her daily poop=-scoop, a
'treasure hunt'. I can't say it fooled anyone but then neither did it
scare them s***less!! ;-) I do wonder what your friends think when
you announce your kitchen is subject to heavenly visitations! ;-)
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 23/06/2013 19:40, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-06-23 17:05:58 +0100, Spider said:

On 23/06/2013 15:22, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-06-23 11:29:24 +0100, Spider said:

On 23/06/2013 08:54, Martin wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 18:22:37 +0100, wrote:

On 22/06/2013 18:14, Jake wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:58:18 +0100,
wrote:

Alas, we have. Squished! Not that I'm very precious about
lillies. I
do love them, but they're cat killers so I can't take the risk
with my
cats. My few lillies are in pots where the cats can't get to them.

The main risk to cats being pollen, I nip out the anthers (just
hold a
container underneath and snip them off into it). This has the added
benefit of prolonging flowering. I don't think the absence of the
reproductive bits makes the flowers look bad. There are also
"cat-friendly" lilies available (J Parkers sell them) which do not
produce pollen at all.





Thanks, Jake. I know I could do that but, for me, the anthers are
attractive and very much part of the lily. I also know there are
double-flowered lilies which *ought* to be safe as they have no
anthers.

The real complication is that one of my cats thinks she's a
caterpillar.
She goes around the garden chewing plants.

All our cats have done that. It happens when they want to make
themselves sick.



Yes, I know all about cat sick, Martin; I have a serial vomiter :~(.
Most cats, however, chose to eat grass (even the decorative kinds),
but Panther likes to chew leaves on my favourite rose, a deutzia,
comfrey and others. I frequently have to tell her to leave a poisonous
plant alone. I can't risk her even trying lily flavour.

Is the other cat called Aga? ;-) To be serious, this cat does sound a
worry! Is this sort of thing a common trait in cats? We're a 'dog
family', so I know little about aberrational cat behaviour!




:~))! No, she's called Cheetah. She's the puker in the family. All
cats need to vomit hairballs from time to time, but Cheetah does have
a bit of a problem with it. She's otherwise very well, but as a
Torteshell cat she's naturally a bit neurotic. I don't have a problem
cleaning up after her. In fact, I praise her if she's got rid of lots
of hair. Richard finds it hard to live with, not least the fact that I
examine the fallout for signs of hair or other ejected items.

Yeeeessss. On balance, Richard has my sympathy there!

We have a special name for this puke: it is called an 'angel'. This
stems from the fact that I was dotty about Phantom of the Opera, in
which there is a song "The Angel of Music" ... or the angel of mew
sick!! :~)). Ged it?! It's certainly nicer when one has company to say
"there's an angel in the kitchen". Indeed, a friend of mine thought it
was great and has adopted the expression.

I know a dog-breeder who used to call her daily poop=-scoop, a 'treasure
hunt'. I can't say it fooled anyone but then neither did it scare them
s***less!! ;-) I do wonder what your friends think when you announce
your kitchen is subject to heavenly visitations! ;-)




They are somewhat non-plussed until they hear the explanation. Just as
well they're good friends :~).

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On Sun, 23 Jun 2013 17:05:58 +0100, Spider wrote:


All cats need to vomit hairballs from time to time, but Cheetah does have a
bit of a problem with it.

Cats will eat grass for moisture as well as vomit inducing (I now grow
cat grass for Pillster, which he seems to love chewing, and my
miscanthus actually grows to it's 6' intended height as a result).

Frequent hairball vomiting can usually be sorted by human grooming.
Difficult at first but Pillster now expects his early evening session
with a Furminator (google it - really good) and tries to get extra
sessions if he can. I'm amazed at the amount of loose stuff I get off
him, especially at this time of the year when he's moulting heavily.

--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
URGling from the other end of Swansea Bay where it's
unusually just like Dave's end, only better

On 23/06/2013 23:25, Jake wrote:
On Sun, 23 Jun 2013 17:05:58 +0100, wrote:


All cats need to vomit hairballs from time to time, but Cheetah does have a
bit of a problem with it.

Cats will eat grass for moisture as well as vomit inducing (I now grow
cat grass for Pillster, which he seems to love chewing, and my
miscanthus actually grows to it's 6' intended height as a result).



Yes, I'm sure that's true. I believe they also chew/eat it for a dose
of folic acid.



Frequent hairball vomiting can usually be sorted by human grooming.
Difficult at first but Pillster now expects his early evening session
with a Furminator (google it - really good) and tries to get extra
sessions if he can. I'm amazed at the amount of loose stuff I get off
him, especially at this time of the year when he's moulting heavily.



I do brush my cats. They both seem to like it, but I've been unwell and
fallen behind with my duties. Even when brushed, though, Cheetah chucks
up more often than other cats. Just as well I've got strong stomach, as
well as adoring the little critter.
I will check out the Furminator though. Thanks.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay