Cat Memorial Trees
The Hazelnut Orchard is the perfect place for dearly departed cats to have their final resting places, complete with memorial trees. Not that I want too many of these, you understand!
Mount Fuji Blossom
In earlier garden years the Moosey tradition was to plant memorial roses. Concerned that this was just another excuse to buy more roses, something more serious and lasting seemed appropriate.
Smoocher :- Meet Smoocher, my wonderfully smoochy ginger cat.
So far I've planted two cat memorial trees. One is a vase-shaped Mount Fuji flowering cherry tree, with beautiful white blossom in the springtime. It's in honour of Smoocher the ginger cat and his short, smoochy life at Mooseys.
The second, smaller tree is a Cornus (or Dogwood), named 'Eddies White Wonder', marking the spot where my 'white wonder cat' B-Puss was laid to rest in 2007.
Eddies White Wonder
B-Puss :- Meet my eccentric white cat B-Puss.
Eddies White Wonder has beautiful white bracts in late spring, and I love it to bits (just like I love B-Puss).
Both these cats were far too young when they left us, but their special trees (complete with irrigation drippers), like their memories, are still growing strong.
+20
+20In honour of my cats' memorial trees (now this is getting complicated) I'd like to give both Smoocher and B-Puss some extra bonus points (twenty each) in my Most Valuable Pet Competition. Deceased cats are at a disadvantage in the MVP...
Update - September 2010
Three more dearly departed cats now have their trees planted in Cat memorial Row. The two grey sisters Jerome and Stumpy have a weeping Silver Pear tree each, and little Mugsy with the orange and black face has a Black Boy Peach. The Silver Pears have just had their first blossom.
Cats Memorial Row Blossom Trees
Phew - these last three dear cats led long happy lives. They all went 'in' some months before their trees - to everything there is a season, you understand.
Hopefully No More Memorials...
No - don't worry, for now there are no more cat memorials. But Stu lamb, the pet lamb I reared in the September spring of 2010, regretfully didn't last very long.
Stu Lamb's Memorial Peach Tree
He is also buried in the Memorial Row, with a Golden Queen peach tree, just planted.