A Simple Way to Keep Cats out of the Garden

I planted my very first flower bed on Friday. My tiny masterpiece features a fledgling ghost fern, a lamium purple dragon, and georgia peach coral bells. I painstakingly mixed the existing dirt with rich, organic planting soil. I carefully de-potted the plants and shook out the roots before tucking them into their new home. Then, I spread mulch around and stood back to admire my work. I should have taken a picture, because the garden would not be so pristine for long.

Friday night, one of the neighborhood cats decided my flower bed would make a great litter box and nearly dug up my fern. I consider myself a cat person, but I am not going to tolerate poop in my plants.

Even after living with cats for 11 years, I still had no idea how to deter them from digging in the dirt. I discovered from a couple of different sources that cats are repulsed by the smell of citrus - specifically, orange peels. A natural skeptic, I did not really believe such a simple solution would work, but I thought I'd give it a try. After all, the other suggestions were either toxic (mothballs, which are considered a carcinogen) or ridiculous (sitting in wait with a garden hose).

On Sunday, I cut up one orange's worth of peel into tiny pieces so as to spread it as far as possible. (I am not a fan of oranges, so I didn't want to eat a whole bunch of them.) I sprinkled the peel all around my garden, which is probably 1' x 5'. It is now Wednesday, and I am happy to report that the neighborhood strays have not ventured back into my flowers! Sometimes the simplest - and least toxic - option really does do the best job.