Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette Mary Cvetan, co-founder of the Pittsburgh House Rabbit Club, has basil, buckwheat groats and dandelions in her Penn Hills garden for her pet Bradley.

By Douglass Oster
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette It's an age-old battle that pits gardener against rabbit. When the lettuce starts to disappear, we're transformed into an Elmer Fudd-like hunter, operatically singing "Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit!"

That's the irony of a recent class for people interested in planting a garden FOR rabbits.

Mary Cvetan of Penn Hills is co-founder of the Pittsburgh House Rabbit Club, an organization that offers support and education to rabbit owners. Members were looking for help growing things that are nutritious for their pets and will cut down on their grocery bills.

		Audio extra Listen to an audio version of this column for expanded interviews and to hear The Backyard Gardener sing like Elmer Fudd.

"Rabbits need a variety of fresh greens every day, at least three different kinds, which can be very difficult financially," she says.

But not everyone has a green thumb or knows which plants to grow for their bunnies. Leafy greens are best, the darker the better. Rabbits devour large-leaved basils along with other herbs like cilantro and parsley.

And here's another bit of irony: Rabbits shouldn't be fed carrots, at least not the root, but the greens are good for them. Carrots are high in sugar, and that can make rabbits sick.

One other revelation will be particularly shocking to gardeners who swear that rabbits will eat just about anything they can get their teeth on.

"They're very picky, too. My bunny won't eat spinach," Ms. Cvetan said.

Her rabbits spend most of the day sleeping under the bed. But when she mentions dandelions, their favorite food, they jump from the deepest sleep and race over to her.

Denise Schram is growing a garden in Aspinwall for herself and her rabbits. She's grown herbs in the past but was looking for some other plant ideas. At harvest time, deciding who gets what can be a challenge.

"Sometimes I feel guilty -- 'No, I'll leave it for the bunnies. I can do without,'" she says, laughing.

Gardeners know that rabbits have quite an appetite, but pet owners really understand the impact a couple of rabbits can have on the food budget. Each rabbit eats about a shoebox full of greens a day, and that adds up.

"They constantly eat, and they beg," Ms. Schram says. "They beg more than dogs. As soon as I walk in the kitchen, they're at my feet like, 'Feed me, feed me, feed me.'"

Chris Wahlberg of Mung Dynasty, who taught the class, grows sprouts and baby greens at his South Side indoor sprout farm, housed in the old Duquesne Brewery.

"It's not that hard. I find that a lot of people are not confident. All it takes is one person to come in and say, 'You can do this.'"

He showed how to grow wheat grass in trays. The crop, which can be managed indoors when the weather is cool, is easy to grow and filled with nutrients for rabbits.

Kate Baginski, 10, of West View, is excited about starting a garden for her pet, Joey. She sees no irony in a garden planted for rabbits.

"It's not weird at all. It's just something for rabbits to have their own little garden so they can have their own stuff."

It's inevitable, however, that a garden planted for house rabbits will be invaded by their wild cousins. She says it's OK to share with the rabbits of the neighborhood.

"If there's leftovers, it's all right," she says, drawing laughter from everyone within earshot.

Gardening for rabbits presents the same challenges all gardeners face. Rabbit owners like Kelly Ogrodnik of Shadyside have a special bond with their animals that justifies the hours spent working in the soil.

"They're just curious little sweet snugglers. They're amazing creatures," she says.

For more information about the Pittsburgh House Rabbit Club, go to www.pittsburghhouserabbit.org/.

Gardens at war

Sometimes a book's title is so intriguing that it practically begs you to read it. That's how I felt about "Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime."

Anyone interested in gardening and history will embrace the stories told here. They are a testament to what gardens mean to all of us, a connection to home and our families. Amid the horrors of war, gardens became a surprising link to normalcy for soldiers, prisoners and civilians alike.

From tiny vegetable gardens planted alongside graveyards near the trenches of the Western Front in World War I, to stone gardens created at Japanese internment camps in the United States, to a scarecrow wearing a yellow star in the Lodz Ghetto of Nazi Germany, these are gardens in unexpected places that nourished souls.

This is much more than a historical textbook. The stories are a fascinating study of humanity. Imagine scores of workers on a forced march seamlessly streaming around one crocus. That tiny bloom is a symbol of how fragile life is and shows that a flower can bring hope in even the darkest hour.

Defiant Gardens is filled with such stories, each one a reminder of how lucky we are to garden in the comfort and safety of freedom.