Walla Walla Valley Gardens

The rolling hills in the background are a perfect backdrop for this natural garden  © Diane B. Reed

The fall is a great time to take a good look at our gardens and begin planning for next year. It's also a perfect time to look for inspiration, and I found just that on last weekend's Walla Walla Community Hospice Pond and Garden Tour. My friend Patti (also an avid gardener) and I visited all ten of the ponds and gardens.

Morning glory                                         © Diane B. Reed

In these unique gardens, we found all kinds of beautiful and unusual plants, from the commonplace to the exotic. The variety of grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees provided a wide range of ideas for my next year's garden.

Edible nasturtiums among the flowers          © Diane B. Reed

One trend that we noticed at many of the gardens was the intermingling of edible plants and vegetables in the gardens. I'm just beginning to do that in my own garden with herbs, but I'm convinced that I need to add vegetables to my beds next year. Since my sunniest gardens are in the front of my house, I plan on taking advantage of their location. Look for hidden tomatoes, eggplant and squash among the blanket flowers and black-eyed Susans!

A bench in a College Place garden beckons © Diane B. Reed

Another inspirational event coming up this fall is the AAUW kitchen tour on Sunday October 2 from Noon to 5 pm. The tour features 8 unique kitchens, and benefits AAUW scholarships and local educational projects. So now that I've made plans for next year's garden I'm going to start gathering kitchen ideas!

Tickets are available from AAUW members, or can be purchased at Earthlight Books, Bright's Candies and Curves in Walla Walla. You can also visit the Walla Walla Kitchen Tour 2011 on Facebook for details.