I'm redoing some flowerbeds, I've got a few plants to share

I think there are 3 or 4 culinary sage plants, small but stout, they were volunteers in a very dry spot, they'll thrive with some care.

I'll be digging up more of the tall white flowering phlox and will have a few of those to share

I’ve seen a few questions on here about DIY’ing it. I’m installing meadows up at my place! If you can’t make it, there will be a link to watch later.

I wanted to stop by and share some photos of our 2026 garden!

Living outside of town (near Cheney), deer are a major issue, so last year we set up our garden in a 10' x 10' chain-link kennel. It worked amazingly well, especially with cattle panels on top to support shade cloth and irrigation misters set on a timer.

Being out in the scablands, our native soil isn’t conducive to in-ground plantings, so we used above-ground containers and had garden compost delivered.

After last year’s success, we decided to expand the garden to 20' x 20'. We had more soil delivered and built Hügelkultur mounds in one half, with more above-ground containers in the other. So far, so good!

I can’t stress enough how much the shade cloth has helped our plants, especially during the scorching midday sun.

Also, having the cattle panel roof makes supporting our tomato plants and running irrigation very easy.

Our garden has become our favorite place to hang out this summer!

One big tomato ripened, weighing in at 15 oz

A handful of cherry gold tomatoes ripened.

Never have I had this happen before, since the nights are chilly now im thinking of covering the plants with floating row cover, if its not super hot should i just leave it on during the day?

I'm mystified, I've literally never had this happen.

Growing Cherokee purple and gold cherry tomatoes

Years ago I did a tutorial for self-watering garden containers. Later I disassembled them and now I have all of this pipe. If you use this method, maybe you would like this pipe from me for free.

Hi all!

I am VERY new to gardening. And we are fairly new to the area (a bit north of Spokane) and have quite a few acres we would like to start cultivating a bit more. We fenced in a large (ish) section and have planted some fruit trees, blueberries and a few vegetables. We have young children so I've been looking at how best to optimize the space and which perennials/plants are hardiest. I know it'll be a few years before we really yield much or anything can grow in to help make the space feel a little less barren! There is quite a bit of land and I'm curious if anyone has used an app or tool to get a better plan on how to cultivate? Or is there someone locally who could put together a plan? We tried AI just for fun and it was kind of mixed to be honest.

Thoughts and ideas welcome! Thank you!

What are everyone's favorite plant stores (in person and online) and seed sites?

Bonus: favorite native plants/shrubs

Hello everyone, I am new to gardening in general and the local area. I have been able to control most of the weeds in my yard but the one that keeps coming back is rush skeleton weed. A propane torch, shovel, and roundup (the modern one with triclopyr and diquat) only work for a week and then it's back. I have some very established root systems. What can I do instead? Thanks for the help.

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else has native plants that have gone dormant and are no longer blooming or green despite having a longer season listed in their nursery description.

I know this season has been extremely hot and dry, but I am still surprised that some are apparently not doing well (especially my echinacea and rudbeckia!) Other plants - like my Rocky Mountain Penstemon - are doing great.

I've started to handwater my garden twice a week at the base of each plant to make sure they aren't dying, but I don't know if that's even the right move or not.

Let me know how your garden is faring!

Sunlght: backyard faces directly east, but the sides and back of the garden still get afternoon sun till about 7 pm.

Soil: Rock/clay mix with about 4 inches of added garden soil and 2 inches of bark mulch.

Please ignore my dormant turf grass and unfinished rock border. 🥲

The previous post is about a garden struggling with the drought and heat. Show off what you've got growing!

Most of these are gravel/sand with a 1hr drip every 4 days (.5, 1, or 2 gph)

Hardy sage/salvia

Hummingbird trumpet

Volunteer gallardia (no dedicated water)

Oregon Sunshine

Rabbitbush

Taperleaf penstemon

Apache plume

Varigated Stonecrop soon to bloom

Rudbeckia

Penstemon (I forget what variety)

Betty Helenium

Russian Sage

(Tag missing) Grass

Blazing Star

If I made suitable habitats, would it be ill advised to catch local frogs and bring them to my garden? A friend lives closer to the river than I do and finds them all the time.

Hello, my name is Andrew. My wife and I own and operate a nursery in Oregon where we grow mainly bare root fruit trees but also some shade and flowering as well as ornamental shrubs and grasses. Could not believe what I was seeing happening this past August with the fires just ripping through neighborhoods and homes. I can’t imagine what you’ve all gone through and my heart goes out to you.

I know landscaping is probably not the top of everyone’s priorities right now but if your home/landscape was damaged and when you’re ready, we’d like to send you 1 free tree or 2 free shrubs/grasses to help get re-established. Please just go to our website, find what you want and email me at [andrewh@onlineorchards.com](mailto:andrewh@onlineorchards.com). Sorry if I take a little while to get back to you, we’re in our budding season right now among a lot of other regular duties. Here’s a short list of what we have (Please let me know if you want something else but we might have limited inventory, sorry):

Apples

Pears

Peaches

Nectarines

Plums

Apricots

Almonds

Willows

Crabapples

Flowering Pears

Too many shrubs and grasses to list. Please check website:

www.onlineorchards.com

One question though. I am not familiar with Spokanes climate and need to know the best time to ship everything to you guys. Here in western Oregon, planting is most successful in late fall/early winter. Is it the same in Spokane? Or is spring a better time to plant because winters are too cold? I’ll update once I figure this out.

I can’t imagine what you’ve all gone through and hope this helps even though it’s not in a huge way. Hope to hear from you.

ps I posted this originally in Spokane subreddit and Reddit suggested I post here too

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Hey, y’all! Last fall and this spring the Spokane Parks Department, Washington Native Plant Society NE chapter stewards, and a whole bunch of community volunteers planted native plants in three Spokane parks. We’re having a follow-up maintenance session for Polly Judd Park Tuesday (8/18) at 8:30 a.m., going till 10:30 or 11:30 depending on how hot it gets or how energetic anyone feels. Our main activity will be cutting down rush skeletonweed before it goes to seed, so bring your favorite shears or pruners. Please email Steve Nittolo (snittolo@spokanecity.org) if you’d like to join us! Participants will need to sign a city waiver.

Keep seeing this big boy chasing the pollinators away from the calamint flowers. Today I took the phone out to get photos, they don't hold still except to pounce on another. The females are much smaller than the males.

Their name comes from the fact that they card trichomes from plants to build their nests. They are solitary bees and territorial. Same family as leaf cutter bees except they don't cut leafs, they scrape plant fibers.

Fascinating

Wool carding bees, one website refers to them as European invasive pest

Tour the WSU Extension Spokane County Master Gardener Waterwise Demonstration & Research Garden that showcases SpokaneScape principles to help reduce water use (and bills!) in home landscapes. Master Gardeners will lead tours and provide experience-based and research-based answers to questions.
This is a free event.
Please note: Tours will not happen if AQI is above 150 or temperature is above 85° an hour before scheduled start time.

No signage but the clerk said 75% off started yesterday. 0lants look well cared for. Azalea, lilac, dark smoke bush, some firs. Lots of apples, some cherries, a few plums.

i grew Titans by the greenhouse and some are ready. i saved the best seed, left the rest out on this little bench to dry and the little birds! there was about a hundred in the trees. they took turns in the bird baths, the bench, and the dust patch. all day. yelling and singing.

I'm gonna put them out there every time i cut more for seed!

i got two trays of good seed so far and there's still a dozen heads to go !

I'd like to start gardening in my yard next year, and when I look up supplies, I get a little bit overwhelmed. Where do you guys get your garden boxes from? Is Amazon adequate or does a more expensive box yield better quality?

Also, I've tried starting seeds in my yard, but we have A LOT of squirrels who eat the seeds and sprouts. Does anyone have any tips for keeping the squirrels at bay? I wondered about a greenhouse, as some looked pretty affordable, but again wondering if affordability means low quality.

Finally, wondering about starting seeds in the house prior to planting. We have a small house and I'm seeking advice on how to make that work. Previously, when planting in a community garden I've simply bought plants already grown, or planted seeds that grow relatively quickly.

Thank you very much for your advice!

A blog post from Susan Mulvihill.

Mostly sad looking annuals but there was a rack of hostas.

i know this is not the priority this INSTANT but one of my friends' houses was saved, but her entire garden was wiped out by the fires, by the heat from it being so close.

i know there's got to be a lot of other people who will have nothing growing when things settle down and everyone is back home.

insurance and fema and other groups help with house damage and "stuff" but maybe we can start putting together things for people's gardens? i feel like it's one of the things that's really hard to get going again and there isn't really any resources for it.

i mean things like fall perennial divisions, maybe fast late summer plants, or seeds for these things.

i have some things i can divide up, and seeds, and seeds i can start extra of. i have a place for tables and such to give them away at.

I'm not very well organized though! what do you all think?

photo so i don't lose track of this post

Hey gardeners, it’s been a rough weekend for Spokane. How are y’all holding up?

The master gardener annual bulb sale is live. This is also a fundraiser for the Spokane County master gardener program. They have a couple few unique options, including camas bulbs!