She Proves Soil Is Good For Soul

Everyone is a gardener. Whether we’re simply tending a lawn and a few trees or just a couple of houseplants, we all garden. Some of us, however, have leaped over into the “fanatic” category. Though our backs ache and we curse the weeds, there are very few places we would rather be than in our gardens. Digging in the dirt and reveling in the sights and sounds of the garden seem to renew our strength and our spirit.

Today, I would like to introduce you to one such gardener: Mii Tai.

One week ago, Mii and I were in her kitchen lamenting the fact that both of us still had flats of flowers that needed to be planted. While we moaned and groaned about our plight, our attention was pleasantly diverted to the huge old maple tree outside her kitchen window. It was alive with birds and squirrels, and for good reason. The tree was home to numerous types of bird feeders, bird houses and squirrel feeder boxes. They were all filled to the brim black sunflower seeds for the birds and corn for the squirrels.

While sitting at her kitchen table, I couldn’t help but notice the stacks of garden catalogs and various garden magazines. Houseplants decorate the corner window and the table. A bank of growlights for her orchid collection occupies space in the dining room.

Outside, Mii has just finished planting more than 400 prize-winning dahlias, all named and staked.

Needless to say, with this many plants, she obviously belongs to the Dahlia Society - four of them, in fact. She also belongs to the Orchid Society, the Northwest Fuchsia Society, the Spokane Rose Society and she is a WSU Master Gardener.

But gardening wasn’t always a major part of Mii’s life. Though she enjoyed working with plants (many years back, she worked for a few greenhouses in Spokane), she never really gardened. The Tais’ fenced-in back yard was simply a manicured lawn. The only tree was the large maple nestled between the houses.

When a family tragedy struck in 1973, Mii searched for some activity to help relieve the pain. She turned to gardening.

In the far back corner, she carved out a space for a small vegetable garden. She began to find renewed strength and spirit. Before long, the back portion of the yard had been turned into a series of raised garden beds, grape vines, sunflowers and one giant compost pile manufacturing rich humus for years to come.

A wire fence, complete with an old wire gate, was built around the garden to protect it from their playful puppy, Brownie. The fence required a bit of “softening,” as all fences do. Naturally, out came more sod and in went a rose garden.

To give the garden a bit of height and dimension, two Asian pears were planted across from each other in the middle of the yard.

Through the years, giant pockets of annuals mixed with peonies, iris, columbine and poppies began to fill the yard with massive displays of color.

You would have thought that with a garden this lovely, all that’s needed is a hammock and a cool drink. Not so with the Tai garden.

The wooden fence that surrounded the back yard was ideal for growing trellised clematis. Thirty-six varieties in shades of pink, purple and white cover the fence with glorious flowers all through the summer.

After visiting many of the specialty nurseries on the coast, Mii fell head over heels for the exquisite small flowering fuchias. Not the large flowers that we are so used to seeing, but delicate, tiny flowers, some no bigger than a minute, all hanging from the edge of her covered patio - all wired with drip irrigation, thanks to her husband, Sumio.

Then came the dahlias. Every gardener who visits the Floral Palace at the Interstate Fair is taken with the unrivaled beauty of the dahlias. After years of these visits, Mii took the plunge. And did she ever. Many of the grand prize winners you now see at the fair were grown by Mii.

In the early spring, her greenhouse is loaded with dahlia starts. This year, the greenhouse was also the overwintering spot for the delicate fuchias, a collection of football mums, unusual geraniums and Christmas cacti.

As I gaze about the garden, I realize the incredible changes that have taken place over the years. Dahlias and the greenhouse have replaced the old vegetable garden. The patio is graced with miniature Oriental gardens, one at each end. One features a charming pond and fountain. The whole area is alive with the sweet fragrance of blooming peonies, iris and roses.

Reluctantly we leave her garden and she and I are off to visit the newly opened Tower Perennial Gardens, hoping to find some rare and exquisite plants. There is always room for more choice specimens. If not, Mii, like the rest of us fanatic gardeners, will simply make room.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review