Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date:
Cats in the
Garden.
Cat Breed: The Norwegian Forest Cat - Skogkatt
By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
Meet the cats around us - they're our friends, protectors, and magical
mascots. They keep us healthy and can even save us in emergencies...
Winter brings a special time called the Solstice. It's when the earth
pauses its yearly cycle and starts a new one. This magical moment marks the
beginning of something enchanting...
Let's begin with the Norwegian Forest Cat. It's a mysterious and northern
feline friend, also called Skogkatt. It's like the wildcats in Scandinavian
fairy tales...
Skogkatt's favorite flower
What's Skogkatt's favorite flower in their homeland? Viking Poms, small yellow daisies. But in more southern regions, Daisy Trees - Montanoa - serve as substitutes, reminding them of their distant Northern homeland.
Montanoa atriplicifolia - Tree Chrysanthemum, Tree Daisy - one of the most impressive winter bloomers.
Happy Valentines Day!
Sound on 🔈
More: #SingingCats
"Be the person your dog thinks you are" - J.W. Stephens "Chess With Carrizo"
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#PeopleCats #SingingCats #Quotes
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PeopleCats Singing Club
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More: #SingingCats
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Just find that song!
🎙 "Those who wish to sing always find a song." - Swedish Proverb
🎥 Niki is sharing her song. More: #SingingCats
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Sing away to feel happy!
🎵 "When I sing, I feel happy. When I stop singing, I feel like I should have kept going." - Minnie Mouse
🎥 Bob is singing and feeling happy
More: #SingingCats
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In Loving Memory of Mr B
Mr B, the Founder of the B-Farm
"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." - A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
Sound on 🔈 More: #SingingCats
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Forest wilderness
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
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Date:
Cat of
the Month:
Winter Adventure of Lisa the Cat
After publishing the story about Skogkatts - Norwegian Forest Cats, we received inquiries about Lisa, if she is available for adoption? Luckily, Lisa now has her wonderful sweet home in Sweden, so unfortunately for those who fell in love with her, she is not adoptable. But Lisa's life story wasn't all that sweet and simple! Rather thrilling and adventurous. So we decided to share her story with you...
By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats
"...Lisa, who illustrated our story about Skogkatt Cat Breed, lives with my daughter Vanda, along with her family: husband Vitaly and two children - Max and Maria. They live in Sweden. Lisa is 13 years old now. About 10 years ago, Lisa had a heartbreaking adventure almost ended with a tragedy... But luckily, she made it through. However, since then, she can't jump high and sometimes walks funny, sways and limps... And here's what happened..."
Date:
Five most useful edibles for your Food Forest
Tired of mowing a boring lawn? Use your yard instead of being used by your yard - grow edible landscape! Below are several plants that made our life happier and meals healthier. Besides, these are fun to grow! Try them out:
1. Hibiscus
sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel - Flowers are used to make
a tea "Agua de Flor de Jamaica". Medical studies show that it lowers blood
pressure and has diuretic effects. The pleasant flavor is on the tart side
similar to a cranberry juice. We make this cold tea every day - perfect for hot
summer. Full sun.
2.
Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, Cholesterol spinach - one of the
Superfoods, and there are many claims that it lowers cholesterol. We use it in
our cooking all the time and so far we are all alive! Full sun.
See recipe >>
3.
Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus. Delicious young shoots,
one of the most popular leaf vegetables in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, people
cook it in stews and soups. It is among only a few flora containing vitamin K.
Full sun or semi-shade.
Learn more >>
4. Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon grass: Versatile performer in the kitchen where it can be used in teas, beverages, herbal medicines, Eastern inspired soups and other dishes. Full sun or semi-shade.
5. Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf: Mexican herb with incredibly sweet leaves that can be eaten from the plant like candy or tossed into fruit salads for an unusual addition. It has been used since the time of the Aztecs for coughs and colds. Tastes great, can be used by diabetic patients. We add this herb to Karkade or Mint tea as a sweetener. Shade or semi-shade.
Date:
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Sonya, the Co-Author
In our previous newsletter, you met our editor/photographer tandem - Tilda & Marina. Today we introduce our columnist assistant - Sonya. For the past decade, this True Norwegian Forest Cat has been a great helper and inspirational co-author for Alexandra, TopTropicals website writer and social media blogger.
Alex has been with TopTropicals since Day One (2003). In 2011, she got Sonya, a 3-month old kitten that someone kicked out: at that young age she already had quite a temper of a real Wild Cat. No one wanted to adopt her and Sonya was doomed to suffer a street life... So Alex invited her in the house... and it took her many months to teach Sonya some good manners! And Sonya turned into a beautiful and affectionate Purrrson as well as became the Boss in the house (what a surprise, duh) and Alexandra's dearest life companion. Sonya also discovered her talent in writing plant stories for TopTropicals, sitting on Alex's shoulder and whispering into her ear while she is typing Sonya's horticultural tips. And when Alex stares at monitors for more than 5 hours, Sonya lays on her keyboard saying: "Now get up and get some stretch lady! Let's go re-pot some plants for a change!"
We will be following up on Sonya's creative work, and you will hear from her again soon...
Check out and more Cat of the Day stories.
