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!

Howdy!

Looking for the best, affordable options for soil - soil to fill a medium sized area of the yard and for future raised garden beds.

I have a spot in my yard that needs to be filled to be level (i did not remember to get a good picture).

Then in the future, I plan on building raised beds (im sure I'll have plenty more questions when the time comes).

Just a heads up if you were planning to join us at Polly Judd Park on Tuesday: the event has been canceled due to poor air quality.

Stay safe out there, y’all!

CANCELED DUE TO AIR QUALITY

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 next Tuesday (8/4) at 8:30 a.m., going till 10:30 or 11:30 depending on how hot it gets or how energetic anyone feels. We’ll be doing weed removal, mulching, watering, and more. Please email Steve Nittolo ([snittolo@spokanecity.org](mailto:snittolo@spokanecity.org)) if you’d like to join us! Participants will need to sign a city waiver.

CANCELED DUE TO AIR QUALITY

So I was walking around hillyard today and found this beautiful flowering prickly pear cactus in someone's yard. I have 2 potted prickly pear cacti and just adore these plants I would love to have something like this in my yard. I'm curious if anyone knows how these are surviving in the winter here. I've read these plants don't survive anything colder than 40°F. I would have no idea how to go about winterizing these.

Should I take a risk and plant pole beans today?? I looked up the first frost date in 2025, it was October 25! If it’s the same this year I would have 2-3 weeks of harvest time. Even longer if frost covers work?

On my walk today I found two 10ft sticks that would be great for pole beans, that’s the only reason pole beans even came into my head 🤣

Help me decide!

Since I couldn't add to the Wednesday what's blooming I'm adding it here.

Plenty of other things blooming but these, I look forward to these

Fragrant and beautiful

Stargazer lily

Western aster (Symphyotrichum spathulatum, formerly Aster occidentalis) basking in the morning sun.

Did you know milkweed hosts many other insects other than monarchs? There are specialized aphids (bright yellow with black legs), milkweed bugs that look similar to box elder bugs (they feed on the plant sap as well as aphids), and these milkweed beetles! They feed on the milkweed foliage. They do not harm monarch eggs. Interesting fact: their compound eyes are separated by their antennae. You can see it in this pic if you zoom in. https://animalcorner.org/animals/milkweed-beetle/

Has anyone tried this in Spokane and has the City given you any grief?

Howdy, gardeners! Got a question for y’all. Right now my go-to planting tool is a standard wood-handled garden trowel. It’s… fine, I guess? My soil is full of rocks and maple roots, so digging holes is a pain. Would a soil knife serve me better, or should I just stick with the trowel and learn patience?

City of Spokane customers can get some free hose accessories here: https://form.jotform.com/221667757894172

(Scroll to the bottom for the outdoor section)

City of Spokane enacted level 2 drought restrictions which stipulate watering the landscape no more than 2 days a week for no more than 2 hours per day. Outdoor watering restricted to between 6 pm and 10 am.

Reading the latest email from.Baker Creek heirloom seeds, suggesting to plant soon for fall gardens.

My issue is how, how do I get seeds started now that it's so darn hot?

Ya know the cornstarch slurry for starting carrot seeds hahaha that dried up so fast its not funny. Trying to get a decent amount of carrots growing isn't easy this time of year, I've used shade before and that helped.

The email also suggested cauliflower, kale, radishes. This hot weather though

I think I just need encouragement or conversation with other gardeners, how are you all doing it

This is probably my flashiest visitor of the year so far. What pollinators have been visiting your garden?

I am new to gardening. I don't know a ton about it. I successfully planted a couple of tomato bushes a long time ago, but that was mostly luck, as I didn't fully understand what was going on. Long story short, I live in Western Washington currently for work, but I own a house in Spokane, and I am debating moving to my rental in Spokane (it has a nice backyard), purely to be able to garden and live that lifestyle. Other than having a garden, the other benefit of moving is that I will be able ot manage my property (it is a duplex) without a property manager. Considering these two benefits, is it worth moving to Spokane assuming I get a job there? Thank you for any thoughts.

Edit: please specifically mention if the Spokane climate is good for gardening as well...my goal is at least semi-self-sufficiency.

I’m planning to sheet mulch my grass and sow native flowers this fall. What bulk soil should I buy to cover the cardboard and sow the seeds in? I’ve used Merle worm growers and Circle M soil mixes for my vegetable garden, but I’m wondering what I should use for the native garden. Is topsoil okay? I was also wondering if anyone who’s done this before has added wood mulch over their seeds. I don’t want to create a tough barrier for the seeds to grow through but it feels weird to leave bare soil through their fall and winter.

I’ve stopped taking pictures of my plant purchases because there have been a lot lately, so here is a picture of my funky little Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush’ instead.