Cultivating Knowledge and Community

By ViAnn Myer, aka VincaVi, President of The Inland Empire Gardeners

There is something about gardeners and reading that naturally go together. The art of gardening is a search for horticultural fulfillment and knowledge. Reading is a natural desire to learn and grow. I doubt there is a gardener out there that does not own an impressive collection of garden books. Gardening and books go handin-hand.

As the President of The Inland Empire Gardeners (TIEG) for the past 25 years, I have been honored to host a wide and fascinating variety of authors.

I have watched our garden club members enthralled by speakers and proceed to line up and purchase a signed copy of the writer’s latest offering. There are, of course, as many gardening books as there are gardeners. Picture books with photos from some of the most

beautiful gardens in the world, the “how you do this and that” book, children’s gardening books, books for every type of plant, environmental nature guides, and my favorite, the stories behind the garden books.

Over the years our garden club has had many homes for our monthly meetings but in the last couple of years we have naturally gravitated toward Spokane Public Library. The moment I stepped into Shadle Park Library I was comfortable and felt welcomed right away. I felt at home. We now meet there the first Thursday of every month and all are welcome!

We have featured hundreds of speakers over the years from all over the country and the world! From The Natural World of Winnie the Pooh by Kathryn Aalto to Sex in the Garden (21 and over please!) by Angela Overy, our guests have covered a wide variety of topics. We’ve highlighted a list of books to the right that are available for check out at the library from authors we’ve featured during our monthly chats. Visit go.spokanelibrary.org/ GardenReads for more.

When we aren’t gardening and reading, we plan two popular events for gardeners of the Inland Northwest every year: The Garden Expo, which is on May 11th this year featuring over 275 vendors, and The Spokane in Bloom Garden Tour on June 15, featuring 10 wonderful gardens on the south and west side of town. You can find more information about these events and more at tieg.org.

ABOUT THE INLAND EMPIRE GARDENERS

The Inland Empire Gardeners was founded in June 1994 by a group of friends around a dining room table. They had the idea for a new kind of garden club—innovative, creative, dynamic, and adventuresome—men, women, families, couples, young, old, novice or expert gardeners. A general interest garden club encompassing veggie lovers, flower fanatics, tree huggers, and the whole wide world of plants, nature, community, and friendship. The Inland Empire Gardeners continues to grow, create, and thrive thanks to our wonderful, dedicated, and enthusiastic members.