Fabulous flora and fauna on Garden Tour

DALTON GARDENS - It's peaceful and quiet on Ron and Bev Noble's property in Dalton Gardens.

The lawns are green, the trees are shady and the five water features are cooling to the ears. Begonias, clematis and phlox are vibrant, vegetables growing from the ground are plump and happy hummingbirds zip through the air to dunk their beaks into ruby red feeders.

Towering above the pleasant scene is the country red barn that Ron built when goats roamed the land.

"We had goats," Bev said Wednesday morning. "We called it a 'goat farm' because we made pets out of every one of them. We couldn't get rid of them ... in some ways they make better pets than dogs."

"That's why we needed the barn," Ron added. "We got the goats first, then we built the barn."

Bev smiled as she described caring for baby goats and bathing them when they were born.

"They start jumping right away. They are so cute," she said. "We enjoyed the goats."

This affection for nature and living things is evident throughout Bev and Ron's 1-acre garden, which will be featured Sunday during the Coeur d'Alene Garden Club's 18th annual Garden Tour. This year's theme is "Growing Gloriously," which can also be applied to the flora and fauna on the couple's property. This is the couple's second time being featured on the tour.

"It's fun," Ron said. "I enjoy people."

"It's ego-lifting," Bev said.

In the Noble garden, guests will see vivid goldfish darting around the 500-gallon waterfall pond feature while butterfly visitors come and go as they please, floating on a gentle breeze. A few juvenile walnut trees can be seen in spontaneous places among spruce trees on the fence line where squirrels have forgotten their winter stashes.

"We used to have a big walnut tree out here and we finally cut it down because it messed up the garden, we couldn't grow things," Ron said, grinning. "During the fall, the squirrels would get those nuts, and they planted them everywhere. And here comes a tree."

Several varieties of pears, apples and prunes flourish in the orchard beyond the main garden as berries climb toward the sun near the vegetable garden, full of thriving eggplant, summer squash, green peppers and much more.

"This is a garden to be enjoyed," Garden Tour chair Bonnie Warwick said of the Noble garden. "This is just Mother Nature at her finest."

Bev and Ron are not master gardeners; they are self-taught self-starters with a desire to watch things grow and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. They have lived in their home on Mt. Carrol Street since 1976 and have been making it their own ever since.

"I like to be out here," Bev said. "I just like to be out here. I'd rather work outside than inside."

The garden has taken more work than usual this year, thanks to the hotter-than-average temperatures. The Nobles agreed that most of their plants and flowers bloomed about a month ahead of schedule.

"It's just been so hot," Ron said. "We've found where some of the leaves have started to curl up and turn brown, I mean, it's unusual."

Luckily, their garden is irrigated, so they have been able to keep up as best as they can to maintain their colorful paradise. The Nobles are also the 2015 Garden Tour recipients of the "Best of the Best" award.

"This is over and above for what it is, an acre that they have turned into a Garden of Eden," Warwick said. "This is it."

The Garden Tour takes place Sunday, rain or shine, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in six locations in Post Falls, Dalton Gardens and Coeur d'Alene. Tickets are $15 in advance or $17 in the gardens the day of the tour.

Info: www.cdagardenclub.com or call 664-0987 or 661-0773 on tour day.