June 2011 Garden Tour: Moore-Turner Heritage Garden

 2011 Events, Garden Tours, Notable Gardens  No Responses »
Jul 112011
 

Moore-Turner Heritage Garden entrance

For our June garden tour we visited one of Spokane’s truly hidden treasures – the Moore-Turner Heritage Garden at Corbin Art Center. It was a very pleasant afternoon, and a few of us met to wander through this lovely garden. It is a bit of a hike, and there were some steep steps to climb, but it was well worth it.

The garden was very clean and neat and shows promise of color throughout the season. There is a bed of floribunda roses just waiting to show off, beds of iris, lilacs, and perennials of various kinds. I particularly enjoyed the ponds with their fountains and waterfalls. It is a truly peaceful setting with a nice view of the city. You can understand why Mr. Moore chose this site for his home, and it is just sad that it was torn down during the Great Depression. Fortunately, some of the original stone walls and water features were not damaged, so you get a flavor of what it must have been like.

After viewing the garden, we all retired to Rose Hill in Manito where a nice picnic table provided a cool area to enjoy refreshments. All in all it was a perfect afternoon that I will long remember.

Click on the thumbnail images below for larger pictures.

 

Moore-Turner Heritage Garden.
There were hedges of Blanc Double de Coubert.

Moore-Turner Heritage Garden

Moore-Turner Heritage Garden.
A beautiful pool surrounded by iris and fed by a gargoyle fountain.

Moore-Turner Heritage Garden.
A hike up a steep hill leads to this pool.

Moore-Turner Heritage Garden
- a beautiful shady path

Moore-Turner Heritage Garden.
What a great view!
 Posted by at 5:28 PM

May 2011 Meeting: Carolyn Starner on Garden Design

 2011 Events, Design, Meetings  No Responses »
Jun 112011
 

Carolyn Starner’s garden

We were privileged this month to have Carolyn Starner with us, author of the book Emerald Journey: A Walk Through Northwest Gardens. Carolyn gave a very enjoyable presentation on garden design. Carolyn had some good ideas that many of us felt would help to improve the look of our own gardens.

Carolyn showed some very nice phtotgraphs of her own garden and told us a great deal about her work designing and revamping her garden. This was so intriguing that I asked her to allow us to visit her garden in August for a tour. You won’t want to miss that!

Carolyn is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Art with a BFA in interior Design, and completed a course in terraced, town and village gardens at the English Gardening School in London, England. She has been a Master Gardener since 1992. She has 20 years’ experience photographing gardens and is a member of the Garden Conservancy.

Pat Vacha provided refreshments.

 Posted by at 5:05 PM

Spokane Rose Society Events for June 2011

 2011 Events, Garden Tours, Notable Gardens, SRS Events  No Responses »
Jun 032011
 

Corbin & Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens

The Corbin & Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens is our destination for June 12. Their website says:

The Corbin & Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens were extensive and impressive residential landscapes reflecting a distinct way of life during the early development of Spokane, Washington.  This archaeological resource contains much of its original form and material that is easily identifiable as a designed landscape reflecting the Arts and Crafts movement in America.  In May 2000, the Moore-Turner Garden was placed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places.  The D.C. Corbin House register listing was amended to include the Corbin Heritage Garden.  The Corbin & Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens project is the first residential landscape of its kind in the state of Washington.

Gwynne and I visited it before it opened and it looks like it should be a nice visit. This is not a tour, just a “go and see what’s there.”

The garden is mostly flat, but it’s on a hillside and has gravel paths. We weren’t able to go in, but it looked to be very nice. I have no idea what the roses will look like on the 12th, but maybe we’ll get lucky and see come nice blooms.

June 12, Sunday

2011 Spokane Rose Show

The Rose Show will be at Northland Rosarium this year (see below for map.) This will give people  an opportunity to check out the Rosarium, in addition to the show. We’ll also have Lynn Schafer, Carol Newcomb, and Ping Lim (more about Ping and his roses is here.)

If you have a few, or a bunch of, nice blooms in your yard then bring them by the show and we’ll show you how best to present them. If you are going to bring your own roses, here are a couple of easy steps to follow:

  • Keep as much stem as possible. We can trim it at the show, if necessary.
  • Keep the leaves!
  • Put the stems in water as soon as you clip them and bring them to the show that way.
  • The bloom should be just starting to open.
  • You do have to know the name of your rose and it has to have been grown in your yard.
  • We have a wide variety of categories and arrangements, so we should be able to find a class for any rose you might have. You can see all the show rules here.

Here’s the show info:

Jun 25 , Saturday

 Posted by at 11:03 AM

March Meeting: Eva Lusk – Native Plants & Wildlife

 2010 Events, Companion Plants, Design  No Responses »
May 012010
 

Everyone who attended our March meeting thoroughly enjoyed the entertaining and informative talk given by Eva Lusk on using native plants to attract wildlife to our Spokane area gardens. (Now, by “wildlife” we mean the good kind, i.e. hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, etc., not deer.)

Eva gave us a wonderful presentation on the many plants native to our area that will make our gardens more friendly places for birds, butterflies and other beautiful creatures.  Her presentation was illustrated beautifully with photos of the plants she recommended taken in her own yard, a designated Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary due to her passion for using native species.

The plants Eva recommends have the added bonus, as native plants, of being easier to grow and maintain than plants from other geographical areas.  Native plants are adapted to our local soil and weather conditions, and are more likely to be resistant to local pests and diseases.

Beautiful and Unusual Native Plants

Here are a few examples of plants she recommended. (Photos are from the University of Washington Library Digital Collection.)

A good example of  a lovely native vine is Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) – a vigorous climber, 6 to 18 feet, blooms in May, produces berries in September. Attracts hummingbirds.

Another native is Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum) – a shade loving plant, 6 to 24 inches, blooms April through May.

Another native shade plant is Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) – an evergreen shade plant, 4 to 6 inches, it produces unusual brownish-maroon blooms April through July.

A fine example of a beautiful native wildflower is the Grass Widow (Sisyrinchium douglasii) – 6 to 12 inches, blooms early April though June.

If you missed the meeting or would like to request a handout compiled by Eva with her recommendations and descriptions and uses for each, call or visit the Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners at 222 N Havana in Spokane just south of the Spokane Fairgrounds and the Indians Ballpark, phone: 477-2181. They are open Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm and Fridays from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.  You can also visit the Master Gardeners website or email them at mastergardener@spokanecounty.org.

For More Information

If you would like more information on gardening with native plants you may want to visit some of the following sites.

Spokane County Conservation District: Landscaping With Native Plants

Washington Native Plant Society

WSU Extension Guide to Native Plants

 Posted by at 3:25 PM

SRS April Meeting: Rose Auction & Tomato Lady

 2010 Events, Companion Plants  1 Response »
Apr 292010
 

We had another fun time at our April meeting. On Wednesday, April 28 at 7 pm we had our (now) Annual Silent Rose Auction and enjoyed a presentation by Elizabeth Casteel, the Tomato Lady.

The Tomato Lady

Elizabeth told us how she got involved in growing and selling tomato plants. Her production has grown from just a few plants that she sold in her driveway to thousands of tomato plants that she sells from her home and at events such as the Garden Expo.

We got to see photos of her tomatoes as they grow from seedlings to  full grown plants. Some of the plants grow to over 6 feet and all produce beautiful tomatoes. Elizabeth also shared with us some of the very clever ways that she accommodates her many tomato plants as they grow.

Elizabeth grows approximately 138 different varieties of tomatoes. Those of us who attended the meeting had the opportunity to purchase some of her more interesting and unusual tomato plants. We discovered that tomatoes come in many different colors, from the traditional red to pink, purple, orange, yellow, green, just about any color except blue.

If you want to pick up tomato plants from Elizabeth visit her website for more information or try to catch her at the Garden Expo, but be aware that last year she sold out all of her plants by 9:30 am!

Silent Rose Auction


The April presentation was followed by our Silent Rose Auction. This was a great opportunity to pick up some lovely roses at exceptional prices.  Bidding was fierce for several of the roses.

Someone was lucky enough to win Carol’s donation of the brand new introduction: Michel Trudeau! Michel is sporting such beautiful blooms already, and what a delicious scent!

Michel Trudeau is a lovely Canadian rose with large, single to semi-double,  deep pink blooms with a silver reverse. It is a vigorous rose, hardy to Zone 2! It was named in memory of Michel Trudeau, the youngest son of the late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Sadly, Michel was killed by an avalanche in British Columbia’s Kokanee Mountains on November 13, 1998 at the age of 23.  You can visit Northland Rosarium (or follow the link above) to purchase this lovely rose. A portion of the sales for this rose will go to the Canadian Avalanche Foundation.

See you at the next meeting: Wednesday, May 26th 7 pm at the Manito Meeting Room in Manito Park.

 Posted by at 6:12 PM  Tagged with:

There is a rose garden at…

 Notable Gardens  No Responses »
Feb 172010
 

There is a rose garden at the home of Thomas and Carol O’Neill, on Long Island, that was planted as a memorial to those who were lost on Sept. 11, 2001 – specifically those who perished at the offices of Sandler, O’Neill & Partners, LLP on the 104th floor of Two World Trade Center. There is a sculpture and fountain with a tablet inscribed as follows:

I give you this one thought to keep.
I am with you still, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the Diamond glint on snow
I am sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle Autumn rain.
When you awake in morning’s hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet bird in circled flight.
I am soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone.
I am with you still, in each new dawn.

The rose gives us strength of spirit and as we experience our own rose gardens through the season of life. The rose lifts our spirits in our darkest hours, the rose extends her beauty and solace to us in spring and once again reminds us that we must keep this beauty in our hearts as a symbol of hope for the future.

God bless,
Carol Newcomb, President
Cliff Winger, President-elect

Erin Alonso rose

Erin Alonso

 Posted by at 2:53 PM

Rose Hill Day in Manito Park

 2009 Events, Notable Gardens, SRS Events  No Responses »
Oct 212009
 

The Spokane Rose Society’s annual Rose Hill Day gathering and picnic took place on Sunday, July 12, 2009 at Rose Hill in Manito Park in Spokane, WA.

We had a good turnout of Rose Society members and visitors seeking information about roses and the Spokane Rose Society.

Everyone enjoyed a delicious potluck in the shade and strolled around Rose Hill admiring the roses in the sunshine.

Robusta - Rugosa

Colorful Miniature Roses

Floribunda

Starry Night - Shrub Rose

Graham Thomas - English Rose

Taking Time to Smell the Roses

Fragrant Cloud

 Posted by at 10:08 PM

How to Train Your Roses to Climb and Create a Flower Wall

 Design, Gardening Tips  No Responses »
Jun 112009
 

This video is from AshdownRoses and the topic is training your climbers in such a way that that the canes have blooms along nearly their entire length, instead of just at the tips. In a nutshell you will be training the canes to grow almost horizontally. Watch the video and Mr. Zimmerman will show you how to properly train your climber(s) and create a gorgeous flower wall.

Books

Climbing RosesSpeaking of climbers and flower walls: If you’re a fan of climbing roses, whether or not you’re in any particular climate zone, you might want to check out this 1994 book, Climbing Roses: “This guide catalogs 65 beautiful rose varieties that thrive in the varied soil and climate conditions of North America. It is full of suggestions on how to cultivate and train the roses. 90 full-color photos.”
Sunset Book on RosesFrom Sunset Books: Roses: Placing Roses, Planting & Care, The Best Varieties. This is one of the books from our library and it covers pretty much all aspects of growing roses. The book isn’t specific to any one climate zone, though. So if you’re in zone 5, like we are, you may have to pick and choose a bit, otherwise it’s an excellent book. (Here’s some of our info on zone 5 roses.)

The Rose Show: The 62nd Spokane Rose Society Rose Show will be on June 27th 2009 at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N Belt St. Spokane WA. Here’s a map and here are the rules and regs if you want to participate.

 Posted by at 1:39 PM

Jacob Maarse’s 3,000 + roses

 Notable Gardens  No Responses »
Dec 032008
 

This may be too many roses . . . then again, maybe not.
View the full photo gallery of his roses at the LA Times.

Jacob Maarses rose garden

Jacob Maarse's rose garden

A tour of florist Jacob Maarse’s 3-acre rose garden
Now he has between 3,000 and 3,500 bushes and significantly less lawn.

 

 

 Posted by at 7:54 PM