Must haves

Velvet eye mask

$156 from TONIC

amara.com

$110 from Lush

lush.com

Chateau La Grave A Pomerol 2007

$500 from The Bottle Shop

Tender is the night massage bar

thebottleshop.hk Red wine glass set

$720 from Indigo Living

indigo-living.com

Cosy night in

Netflix and chill in style with these home comforts. By Nicole Slater

Goddess bath bomb

$85 from Lush

lush.com

Sublime Replenishing Night Masque

$920 from Aesop

aesop.com

Swiss Miss marshmallow lover cocoa mix

$28.5 from ParknShop

parknshop.com

Piet I geo cushion cover

$250 from Home Essentials

homeessentials.com.hk

Ask a vet...

Dr Pauline answers your cat queries this month

My cat loves exploring our garden. What can I do to prevent her from bringing germs into the house?

The only way to truly do this would be to stop your cat going out into your garden. Pet cats can get anxiety issues and anything we can do to reduce stress in our pets should always be supported. If she really needs time out of your house to express her natural predatory instincts, it’s important to keep her anxiety levels down. Enclosing cats in confined environments can lead to some life threatening medical problems and behavior issues.

Since you are probably also spending part of your day outside, you are just as likely to bring garden germs into your home. My advice would be simple. As long as you have a happy healthy normally behaving cat and enforce good home cleaning and disinfection, and brush/groom your cat regularly then you don’t need to worry about the germs.

My cat keeps waking me up for food in the middle of the night. I don’t feed her but she keeps doing it. How can I get her out of that habit?

If this was my cat I’d make sure she had some food in her bowl at bedtime on a daily basis. If you know it’s only food she is craving, you can try a food delivery toy set to go off during the night. This will deposit some food around your house to keep her amused as well as fed. It will be a much easier practice to adopt than trying to break a habit. I’ve heard of people trying to shut cats out of their bedroom but that doesn’t work because the cats will then just scratch the bedroom door and continue to wake their human ‘provider’. Couples have split up due to arguing about their cat, or abandoned their cat to save the relationship. It’s true to say that cats have a different internal body clock to humans. They eat, sleep and play at different times, so it may not be food your cat wants. It may be time to play or hunt and your cat looks to you for these needs in her environment.

Got a question for Dr. Pauline? Email editorial@hongkongliving.com

What to plant in September

Weather facts:

- Average high temperature: 30°C - Average low temperature: 25°C - Average rainfall: 327.6mm - Average rainfall days: 14.7 days

September heralds not only the longawaited back-to-school season, but also the return to the grindstone for all you gardeners. Leave the kids to their technology devices and don loose-fitting attire so you can get your hands dirty.

Summer in Hong Kong swelters on, with temperatures ranging between 25ºC and 31ºC. It’s also the height of typhoon season and unpredictable weather, rain or shine, presents an extra challenge to the intrepid gardener. Just about anything is possible, so come prepared for all eventualities.

The heat this month makes it the ideal time to plant out your tomatoes, some much-needed colour amidst these dreary summer storms. Meanwhile, celery should be transplanted from seed pans into carefully-made nurse beds, which provide excellent drainage and will protect your seedlings from pesky bugs and slugs.

Seeds of the following may be sown: Chinese spinach, lettuce, sweet corn, Chinese green and white cabbage, radish, cauliflower and carrot – all delightful vegetables. Mustard and cress may also be planted now, although one may prefer to plant these in October in less inclement weather.

To plan ahead for next month’s gardening, obtain a good quantity of brinjal seeds for sowing, and towards the end of September make sure to manure the beds for the bulk of the winter crops. A prepared gardener is a perfect gardener, as I always say, although my partner informs me I may need a catchy slogan.

By William James Tutcher F.L.S. (1867-1920)

Superintendent of Hong Kong Botanical Gardens. Paraphrased from his seminal 1906 work Gardening for Hong Kong.

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