Manito Park offers gardens to enjoy, inspire

Thu., Aug. 18, 2005

Pat Munts Special to Voice

This week in the garden

•Water, water, water. Our humidity levels have been very low so even more moisture is being sucked out of our plants. Deep-soak shrubs and trees once a week to restore soil moisture. Water lawns and gardens in the early morning to reduce the potential for evaporation.

•If you have more produce from your garden than you can use, donate the extra to your local food bank. Any vegetable or fruit in any amount is welcome.

•Mow lawns a little higher so the taller grass can shade the ground and reduce water loss.

•Keep deadheading flowers that will bloom in the fall. When it cools down they will be ready to put on another show.

•Roses should have had their last fertilization. This will reduce new growth and allow the stems to harden up before winter. This will reduce the potential for winter damage.

•Start planning where you want to move plants when it cools down. Add compost to the soil so the plants have a good home to go to.

•Pull and dispose of noxious weeds like thistle and knapweed. They are flowering so it's too late to treat them with herbicides. Put them in the trash. Remember a single knapweed flower can have several hundred seeds that will remain viable for decades.

•Order fall bulbs now so they arrive early enough to plant while it's still warm. They will be able to set a good root system before it gets cold and put on a good showing in the spring.

It has been a busy summer tending gardens: Watering, chasing bugs, harvesting produce and mowing the lawn.

The onset of the August heat has slowed many of these demands so there isn’t as much to do until it cools down.

So maybe it’s time to do a little GBWA – gardening by walking around.

The perfect place to go this time of year is Manito Park, one of the Inland Northwest’s great gardening treasures. In a little more than 90 acres, you can visit six gardens, each with its own unique style and character, everything from the very formal to the absolutely natural.

Gaiser Conservatory

Start with a visit to the Gaiser Conservatory.

This classic glass structure houses a great collection of tropical foliage plants, houseplants and succulents and changes with the seasons so there is always something new.

The conservatory was built in 1912, rebuilt in 1974 and expanded in 1988.

Duncan Gardens

The Duncan Gardens are directly south of the conservatory.

This garden is one of the best examples of a classical European Renaissance style garden in the Northwest.

Symmetrically balanced beds are filled with gorgeous annuals and flanked by beautifully kept turf. Orderly paths bring you close to the plants.

In the center of the garden are a beautiful granite fountain and two reflection pools that complete the garden’s formal air.

Joel E. Ferris Perennial Gardens

To the north of the conservatory is the Joel E. Ferris Perennial Gardens where informality and diversity rule.

Here informally shaped beds and borders are filled with plants that demonstrate the tremendous diversity of colors, textures, flowers and foliage that can be found in perennial plants.

These gardens change constantly through the year so visit them often to see what’s new.

Rose Hill

The formal rose gardens found on Rose Hill above the Ferris Perennial Gardens have received many awards over the years including the Certificate of Achievement for Outstanding Rose Garden Management.

Here more than 1,500 roses representing 150 modern varieties and a growing collection of old-fashioned and miniature roses show you how diverse the queen of flowers can be.

The garden is also an All American Rose Selection test garden, operated in conjunction with the Spokane Rose Society.

Spokane/Nishinomiya Japanese Garden

The Spokane/Nishinomiya Japanese Garden is an oasis of serene landscapes and reminders of the friendship between Spokane and our Sister City, Nishinomiya, Japan.

The garden was completed in 1974 and was ranked as one of the top 25 Japanese gardens in North America in 2004. A walk through the garden will take you far from the city around you.