garden of the month contest
Garden of the Month Application (June – September)
You can download your application (include a picture and description) and mail it to Garden of the Month Contest, PO Box 13184, Spokane Valley, WA 99213 or email it to tieg@comcast.net.
Is Your Garden a Star?
The Inland Empire Gardeners has decided to suspend the Garden of the Month Contest at this time. Please continue to garden and beautify your neighborhoods.
garden of the month
Good Luck to all the talented and dedicated gardeners out there!
It's been said that life is like a garden.
Every small work of kindness
and every thoughtful gesture
is like a tiny seed.
And when you plant these seeds,
wonderful things can happen.
Smiles appear, dreams blossom,
and love takes root and grows.
Before you know it,
happiness is all around you.
It takes a lot of care and effort
to tend the Garden of Life,
but you're one of those people
who have a special gift for it.
Hold on to that gift,
because people like you
make the world a more beautiful place.
by Tracy Donovan
SPOKANE GARDEN OF THE MONTH WINNERS (To 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 2019
September 2019 - Nancy Sonduck
August 2019 -Joe Laynor
July 2019 -- Dan & Vicky Frickle
June 2019 - - Larry Vail & Carol Holter
“Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.” - Sigmund Freud
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2018
September 2018 - Claudia Biggs
August 2018 - Carmen Perkins
July 2018 - Weaver-Lundberg Family
June 2018 - Carolyn Nesbitt
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” - Luther Burbank
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2017
September 2017 - Sandy Mooney
August 2017 - Lory Miller
July 2017 - Carol & Peter McKenny
June 2017 - Keith & Vickie Thompson
“Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.” - Lindley Karstens
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2016
September 2016 - Pamela & Bob Brown
August 2016 - Gabriele Tilley
July 2016 - Randy Palmer
June 2016 - Carol Thomson
"A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.” - Liberty Hyde Bailey
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2015
September 2015 - Ellie Mae Holm
August 2015 - Mike Dibiase
July 2015 - Jim Burger
June 2015 - Helen Hansen
“I say, if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.” - Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2014
September 2014 - Jude Cormier
August 2014 - Sami Perry
July 2014 - Connie Osier
June 2014 - Lori & Brian Scott
“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world.” -Michael Pollan
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2013
September 2013 - Ann & Gary Edwards
August 2013 - Don & Barb Cagle
July 2013 - Karol Starzel
June 2013 - Greg Perrenoud
“However many years she lived, Mary always felt that she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow.” - Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2012
September 2012 - Craig & LeAnn Whiting
August 2012 - Mary Ann & Ken Corman
July 2012 - Linda Knapp
June 2012 - Marianna Rieg
“The miracles of nature do not seem miracles because they are so common. If no one had ever seen a flower, even a dandelion would be the most startling event in the world.” - Martina Arroyo
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2011
September 2011 - Violette & Rich Gamba
August 2011 - Michael & Jennifer Gilbert
July 2011 - Julie Moyer-Nesbitt
June 2011 - Barbara Safranek
“If you really want to draw close to your garden, you must remember first of all that you are dealing with a being that lives and dies; like the human body, with its poor flesh, its illnesses at times repugnant. One must not always see it dressed up for a ball, manicured and immaculate.” - Fernand Lequenne
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2010
September 2010 - Keith & Pamela Smith
August 2010 - Robert Carnell
July 2010 - John & Maralee Karworski *new address/new garden
June 2010 - Randy & Sharon Micek
"By the time one is 80, it is said, there is no longer a tug of war in the garden with the May flowers hauling like mad against the claims of the other months. All is at last in balance and all is serene. The gardener is usually dead, of course.” - Henry Mitchell
Spokane’s Gardens of the Month 2009
August 2009 - Stan & Donna Canter
July 2009 - Allan LeTourneau
June 2009 - John & Donna Philips
May 2009 - Jeanne & George MacKay
“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 Meir 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 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
We would like to thank our business sponsor NW Seed and Pet and our print sponsor The Spokesman-Review Newspaper.