Purple Queen was Attacked Last Night

Perhaps you recall the beautiful blooms that began appearing on my purple queen.

This morning, I noticed that two of Purple Queen's beautiful flowers were missing.  They had not fallen on the floor or withered on the vine.  It was if something attacked them in the night.  The beautiful blossoms had been cropped down to the nubs.

After some preliminary investigation and questions directed at all members of the household.  I have narrowed it down to the prime suspect:  Baby

Don't be fooled by the adorable face, this suspect is unable to account for his time during the incident and his paws match incriminating pawprints left near the scene of the crime.  The suspect finally cracked under investigation commenting:  "They were delicious and I'd do it again."

Pets can be formidable opponents for any balcony gardener.  Eating plants is not only harmful to the plant, but is also harmful to your pet.  Many plants are poisonous to cats and dogs.  Generally herbs are not poisonous to animals, but many common flowers will make your animal sick or harm them more severely.  The best solution is to keep your garden in a room that the pet doesn't go into or at a height they cannot reach.  This is more difficult with cats. 

The trick is to discover what is attractive about the situation to the pet.  I have learned from experience that my siamese cat doesn't enjoy walking on grates, however he is a large cat and can reach any plant less than three feet off of the ground, simply by standing on his hind legs.  My strategy is to position the plant so that it will be out of reach for the cat on the grate. 

My cat will be forced to either walk in the grate to get the plant or abandon the idea to play with something else.  Depending on how determined he is to reach it, I may have to alter my strategy.  The Purple Queen has a new bloom emerging so we should find out soon enough.  If you have any stories of pets and plants, feel free to submit a comment.