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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gardening: Stunning transformation


Carol McVicker's enjoys her garden.Special to the Spokesman-Review
 (Pat Munts Special to the Spokesman-Review / The Spokesman-Review)
Pat Munts Correspondent

When Carol McVicker moved into her 1950s South Hill rancher six years ago, the landscaping was as old as the house and was fast swallowing it up.

“I had a friend who does landscaping come over to give me some ideas. Her suggestion was to clear a small space and mound it up with dirt when spring came,” says McVicker. “The rest is history.”

It took a couple of years to pull out the old plants but once that was done, she started playing with new plants. The transformation was stunning enough that McVicker won The Inland Empire Gardeners Garden of the Month contest for May.

The front yard is on a corner and faces south which means it gets lots of sun during the middle of the day but is shaded by tall pines in the evening. McVicker brought back the idea of the front porch in the form of a patio around the front door where she can sit and watch the garden and visit with neighbors.

She pulled out an old hawthorne tree and transformed the space into a dry stream bed lined with grasses, iris, lavenders and several different drought tolerant ground covers. A basalt column fountain at the head of the stream adds the sound of water.

“With small grandkids, a larger water feature wouldn’t have been safe,” she said.

Old, broken pieces of a patio became a path softened with creeping thyme. Near the street, a tri-color beech anchors a bed of shrubs and perennials.

Along her side yard, an ancient, weeping red Japanese maple cascades down a bank adding color and texture to the garden. Across from the maple, McVicker artistically arranged the vegetables in raised beds to take advantage of their color.

The backyard is an elegantly simple oasis shaded by tall trees. Green and white hostas float on beds of low growing sweet woodruff while ferns and other shade-loving plants thrive in the cool dampness. The angular lines of a patio surrounded by a low wall near the house add an interesting contrast in textures. McVicker said she spends a lot of time here with friends around the fire pit.