Is Your Garden a Star?
Local Commuting Area Only (Spokane, WA)
The Inland Empire Gardeners sponsor a Garden of the Month Contest during the growing season each year.
There are 4 contests a year (June-September). The Garden of the Month Selection Committee chooses the 5 top gardens to visit and a winner is chosen from 1 of the 5. Gardens are judged on design, maintenance, originality, color, and heart.
PRIZE: The winning prize package includes a specially engraved stepping stones, a garden book, and a local garden nursery gift certificate.
ENTRIES: To enter the Garden of the Month Contest (your garden needs to be in Spokane City or County), just fill out the application below and mail in to the address provided or drop off at any Northwest Seed & Pet location.
Garden of the Month Application (June – September) – Garden of the Month Entry Blank and Rules
Good Luck to all the talented and dedicated gardeners out there!
GARDEN OF THE MONTH WINNERSTo Date
“Local Spokane Gardeners Hall of Fame–The Best of the Best”
Their names will live in glory in Spokane gardening history!
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2009
August 2009 - Stan & Donna Canter
September 19, 2009 in Washington Voices
Even After the Blast, Well, They’re Still Having One
Pat Munts, The Spokesman-Review
Dynamite isn’t your usual garden building tool. Unless you live on top of a basalt cliff and want to be closer to the view.
That’s all Stan and Donna Canter wanted to do at their home north of Wandermere. What they ended up with was a tropical paradise in the middle of the pines and dry grass meadows of a former cattle ranch. It’s no wonder they won the August Garden of the Month from the Inland Empire Gardeners.
“The house was too far back from the edge of the cliff to see our meadow,” said Donna. The cliff was just going to have to move. They brought in a blasting crew and carved out a huge hole in the cliff in front of the house. It was then that they discovered that the jumble of rock left from the blasting created an opportunity for a tropical paradise. “It was kind of like Jurassic Park,” said Donna.
Big rocks call for bold garden features and plants to frame them. The basalt had shattered into columns of slightly rounded boulders geologists call pillow basalts, so it took on an aged look quickly. The Canters created a pond at the bottom of the grotto and stocked it with koi.
A pile of rocks on the west side of the pond was reworked into a waterfall and a rockery. The rock to the east side of the pond where the soil was thin was reworked into an alpine garden. Stan built decks that hang down over the pond from the house, perfect for watching the large, colorful koi that circle looking for a handout. “We had to put in a net over the pond to keep the osprey and herons out,” said Stan. “They ate the biggest ones first.”
Because the grotto garden faces south, all this rock sitting in the sun created a microclimate that expanded the types of plants the Canters could grow. In the pockets in the rockery above the pond Donna planted bold grasses, perennials and evergreens and ground covers that cascade down the rocks. All took advantage of the heat to reach legendary heights.
Around the pond, they planted cannas, zebra grass, castor bean and some USDA Zone 6 evergreens. Under the corner of the deck and a huge Nishiki willow, they created a sitting area to appreciate the garden and pond.
But wait, there’s more. Back up on top of the basalt cliff, they created a large patio and cabana for entertaining. The bar shed has a green roof of sedums and other drought tolerant plants. Perfect for their daughter’s wedding earlier this summer.
Their entry garden of mixed evergreens, deciduous shrubs, grasses and perennials make the walk to the front door more of a meander through a rocky meadow. Off the patio the Canters put in a large vegetable garden that was overflowing with the late summer’s bounty.
And the meadow view that started it all? Several deer were wandering through below us as we talked.
July 2009 - Allan LeTourneau
August 15, 2009 in Washington Voices
Kaleidoscope of Color Offers Reprieve from Winter Palette
Pat Munts, The Spokesman-Review
This time of year, Spokane’s landscape usually has turned to shades of tan and brown. Most blooming plants have taken a hiatus with the recent heat and will come back around after it cools off.
Not in Dixie and Allan LeTourneau’s yard, though. You could see the brilliant purple and pink Wave petunias a block away. Didn’t have to go hunting for that house number.
“We like a lot of color,” said Allan. “The winters are so long and dark that we look forward to the color in the summer.” It was easy to see why they won the July Garden of the Month award from The Inland Empire Gardeners.
The LeTourneaus’ garden is located halfway up the Five Mile Bluff with a view of north Spokane. The house was built in the late ’60s and the couple added a three-story addition recently, giving the house a nicely updated look. When the LeTourneaus moved in four years ago, there were very few flat spots in the garden. That was perfect for Allan, who likes to build.
And build he did. He built a wall at the street to level the front yard. Using basalt from the demolition of his old chimney and fireplace, he faced the house foundation and built planting islands in the new, level lawn. They then filled the beds along the wall with pink and purple petunias that drape over the wall. Backing these border plants are low-growing dahlias that were just beginning to put on their late-summer show.
They preserved several old shrubs, including a huge rhododendron from the house’s original landscaping that anchored the new plantings and gave them a more settled look. These older foundation plantings were updated with delphiniums and hydrangea.
The walk to the backyard took us past one of their rose beds. When they moved four years ago, Allan took cuttings of some of his favorites and rooted them. Even with the harsh weather last winter they were beautiful.
While Allan does the construction, Dixie is the weeder and deadheader. “I like coming out and making things look pretty,” she said of her nearly daily walks through the garden. “After the long winter, it is wonderful to get back in the color of the garden.”
In the backyard, the slope is even more pronounced. To tame it, Allan built another wall and a cascading series of waterfalls flanked with perennials and grasses. The rock for the project came from the recent construction of the north-south freeway. He installed a series of colored lights on the waterfalls that they enjoy watching in the evening from the deck.
Edging the wall is a colorful mixture of perennials, roses and annuals. Above the wall at the back of their property, they have a small vegetable garden and several climbing roses. They removed a large maple recently, and to hide the stump, built a planter on top of it out of an old waterbed frame. “Everything gets reused around here,” Allan said.
June 2009 – John & Donna Philips
Couple Carve Colorful Oasis on the West Plains
Pat Munts, The Spokesman-Review
When many people think of Spokane’s West Plains, they don’t usually think about beautiful gardens. They are more likely to think of wide open grassy plains cut by scabland rock outcrops, dotted with a few pine trees. And wind – lots of wind.
Donna and John Phillips will show you something completely different if you find your way to their home just off Trails Road. Instead of bemoaning the rock and the elements, these intrepid gardeners have used creativity, sweat and sheer spunk to create a unique garden that won them the June Garden of the Month contest of The Inland Empire Gardeners.
The Phillipses’ garden begins at their gate, where bird houses on fence posts attract the bluebirds that live in the grassy meadows around them. Closer to the house, Donna has placed yard art created from “stuff” that came her way. Her newest mobile is an assortment of old car parts. A “tree” of bright blue wine bottles stands near their greenhouse along the driveway.
The house is situated on the side of a basalt knob and shaded by pine trees. The landscaping in the front yard frames the view of the fields from a large deck, where the Phillipses say they spend many evenings. Alongside the house is a spot where their collection of Christmas cacti and orchids spend the summer.
In a sunny area below the house, fenced to keep the deer out, the Phillipses maintain a half-acre vegetable garden and orchard. Apple and peach trees provide fruit in the summer and fall. The raspberries and blackberries they can’t eat fresh are turned into jam. This year they will make salsa and tomato sauce, so two dozen tomato plants grow among herbs, greens, peppers and squash.
Behind the house is their show garden. Where the front garden conceded to the natural scenery and elements, their back garden takes the rocks and pines head on. A narrow lawn filled with a wide selection of perennials and small shrubs frames the view from the house of rock terraces carved out of the basalt. Dark orange tiger lilies are a perfect foil for several blue-flowering perennials. In drier parts of the terraces, the Phillipses have planted drought-tolerant natives including Tweedy’s lewisia that seemingly grow right out of the rock. Linda has filled an old bed frame with pansies and violets to make – what else? – a flower bed.
In another celebration of rock, the Phillipses built a waterfall that flows over the terraces. It adds the perfect bit of water music to the garden and provides the local critters a place to drink and bathe. Bird feeders are scattered around the garden to feed quail and other birds. The Phillipses coexist with the deer by fencing only those parts of the garden that really need it.
Want your garden considered for Garden of the Month? The final contest of the summer closes Aug. 15. Applications can be picked up at Northwest Seed and Pet or at www.tieg.org.
May 2009 – Jeanne & George MacKay
Cottage Garden Best of the Month
Pat Munts, The Spokesman-Review
Some gardens are showplaces of a gardener’s passion and prowess at growing great plants. Others are eclectic collections of this and that the gardener claims merely followed them home from the nursery.
Still others are a mix of both wrapped up in the gardeners’ personalities and love for each other. Such is the garden of Jeanne and George Mackay of Spokane Valley. Their English cottage-style garden is a wonderful rambling collage of plants bright with late spring color. Their efforts earned them the May Garden of the Month title.
When Jeanne moved to the house 17 years ago, the garden was lawn, a few bushes and lots of pine trees. She quickly changed that by moving more than 400 plants from her old house and filling her new yard. When Jeanne first met George, he told her he didn’t do gardening and wasn’t really interested in taking up her passion. That didn’t last long though. Four years later he has become the chief weeder and eagerly looks for new blooms as they come out.
Their front garden isn’t hard to miss from the street. Perennials spill off the curb in abundance and have stopped more than their share of cars driving by. Pale pink dianthus, several kinds of hardy geraniums and tall blue false indigo offer a cool contrast to the bright orange poppies. The poppies in turn set off red leafed barberries.
Their backyard is a perfect place to spend a warm day. Under the shade of the pines, more perennials thrive with wild abandon. The Mackays have scattered comfortable chairs around the garden that invite you to sit in the cool shade. Birds are flitting about taking advantage of water left from the sprinklers. On the patio, Jeanne’s extensive houseplant collection is basking in the summer sun. Two new raised beds have been planted with vegetables that will be harvested later in the summer.
Ever wondered what it really takes to be a Garden of the Month or on one of the local garden tours? Winning gardens don’t need to be expensive, huge or filled with rare plants that the gardener knows all the botanical names of. The Mackays are proof of that. A winning garden can be very small or even just a part of a larger garden. It can have ordinary plants used in creative ways. It can be in any neighborhood. What a winning garden needs is heart and the willingness of the gardener to share it with others.
If you have a garden you’d like to share, enter the Garden of the Month contest for July and August this year. Applications can be picked up at Northwest Seed and Pet or from The Inland Empire Gardeners Web site, www.tieg.org.
Deadlines for entries are the 15th of each month. If this isn’t the year for you, the contest runs from May to August each year so plan for next year. Who knows, entering the Garden of the Month contest may find you on a future garden tour.
“The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.” – Vita Sackville-West
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2008
August 2008 – Terri Carstens
July 2008 – Rene & Steve Goebel
June 2008 – Kathy & Gordon Kaufman
May 2008 – Carol McVicker
“I have found, through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land.” – Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2007
August 2007 – Darlene & Douglas Reilly
July 2007 – Annie & Devon Pierce
June 2007 – Nancy & Rick Keyes
May 2007 – David & Kara Trail
“Gardens, scholars say, are the first sign of commitment to a community. When people plant corn they are saying, let’s stay here. And by their connection to the land, they are connected to one another.” - Anne Raver
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2006
August 2006 – Jeff & Lorae Sims
July 2006 – Juan Juan Moses
June 2006 – Jim & Phyllis Stephens
May 2006 – Cathi Lamoreux
“Aren’t gardening people the happiest, friendliest, and most generous people you know? Why do you suppose gardening is the #1 hobby in America? Why are there so many people across the state waiting in line to become Master Gardeners or joining garden clubs, individually, as couples, or as a youth? Why are so many millions of dollars spent in gardening retail stores every year? Gardening touches everyone in some way, be it beauty, color, solitude, food, memories, therapy, land value, exercise (some of the best), to attract wildlife or just the thrill of making something grow. It’s a great way to have quality time with your family and friends. – Sonya Robinson, The Gardener’s Touch
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2005
August 2005 – Julia & David Marcyes
July 2005 – Diane Kelly
June 2005 – Nancy Bell
May 2005 – Charlie & Terry Klement
“I think the true gardener is a lover of his flowers, not a critic of them. I think the true gardener is the reverent servant of Nature, not her truculent, wife-beating master. I think the true gardener, the older he grows, should more and more develop a humble, grateful and uncertain spirit.” - Reginald Farrer, In a Yorkshire Garden
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2004
August 2004 – Lisa Burns
July 2004 – Kevin & Linda Fairhurst
June 2004 – Carol Thomson
May 2004 – Carolyn Starner
“I have come to terms with the future. From this day onward I will walk easy on the earth. Plant trees. Kill no living things. Live in harmony with all creatures. I will restore the earth where I am. Use no more of its resources than I need. And listen, listen to what it is telling me.” – M.J. Slim Hooey
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2003
August 2003 – Joan & Steve Hoitink
July 2003 – Arne & Charmagne Woodard
June 2003 – Paul & Betty Fisher
May 2003 – Bob & Kris Fiala
“Green fingers are a fact, and a mystery only to the unpracticed. But green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart. A good garden cannot be made by somebody who has not developed the capacity to know and love growing things.” - Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2002
August 2002 – Don & Shirley Mitchel
July 2002 – Anne Trail
June 2002 – Russ Shear
May 2002 – Pat Holmstead
“That a man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2001
August 2001 – Karen Miller
July 2001 – Barbara Clark
June 2001 – Charlene Pierce
May 2001 – Charles Parsons
“Even the smallest landscape can offer pride of ownership not only to its inhabitants but to its neighbors. The world delights in a garden…. Creating any garden, big or small, is, in the end, all about joy.” - Julie Moir Messervy
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2000
August 2000 – Mary Williams
July 2000 – Al Coyle
June 2000 – Charles Gillingham
May 2000 – Larry & Patty Jenkins
“Still others make gardens because it is part of a full life. To live happily they must invest their hours and aspirations in the activities of another world. And they draw the interest of delight and refreshment according to the measure of their investment. These are usually quaint folk, other-worldly in their manner, but capable of comprehending the idiosyncrasies of Nature as she displays them in a tree and bush and passing season, across the skyline and in the infinite zenith. These, moreover, are the successful gardeners.” - Richardson Wright, Truly Rural
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 1999
August 1999 – Rayna Lee & Bruce Walker
July 1999 – Dee Young
June 1999 – Lynn Mair
May 1999 – Bob Snider
“So, yes, I do experience a type of reverie as a gardener. But it is not something I control or strive for. When I find spirituality in my garden, it seems to go hand in hand with hard work and diligence. Like a burst of sunshine on a cloudy day, a feeling of peace will come over me and grab me by surprise. I don’t really know why or how it happens. But then again, I wouldn’t want it any other way.” - Fran Sorin
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 1998
August 1998 – Steve Scheller & Dennis Dillon
July 1998 – Ted & Betty Parrish
June 1998 – Maralee Karwoski
“To create a garden is to search for a better world. In our effort to improve on nature, we are guided by a vision of paradise. Whether the result is a horticultural masterpiece or only a modest vegetable patch, it is based on the expectation of a glorious future. This hope for the future is at the heart of all gardening.” - Marina Schinz
