In the garden: 2024 Coeur d’Alene Garden Tour delights

HAYDEN — Charise Maynes Felker beamed nearly as brightly as the afternoon sun as she welcomed hundreds of people to her garden Sunday.

Built almost entirely by Felker and her husband, David, the garden is reminiscent of a woodland park, with relaxing water features and colorful blooms in spring, summer and fall. The flower beds are dotted with creative touches: Mossy tree stumps, small statues of pugs and a red door that stands alone, as if beckoning visitors through it to some other place.

Felker’s garden is one of six little paradises included in the Coeur d’Alene Garden Club’s 2024 Garden Tour.

Tending her expansive garden is therapeutic for Felker, both physically and emotionally. After five spinal surgeries, she said, working her garden keeps her active and lifts her mood. She also feels a deep spiritual connection to the space she’s cultivated.

“This is my church,” she said. “I believe that this is where God is. This is where I go to talk to my parents. My sister recently passed away. There are butterflies that come here, and I know it’s them.”

Felker grew up on the Rathdrum Prairie, where her dad taught her to grow vegetables and her mom and aunts taught her how to grow flowers, as well as how to can the produce they grew.

“I have some flowers from their gardens, which is very special,” Felker said. She blinked back tears as she pointed out red hot pokers, with their red and orange flower spikes. “It chokes me up a little.”

A self-taught gardener, Felker doesn’t always play by the rules. She experiments, planting flowers in the place that feels right, even if conventional wisdom says they need more sun or more shade. She also likes to let her plants grow freely, however they’re inclined, without being overly concerned about their height or shape.

“I don’t try to trim them and keep them contained,” she said.

In the weeks leading up to the Garden Tour, Felker said she felt apprehensive about letting the community into her oasis.

“I’m a very private person,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of anxiety over this, feeling like I needed everything to be perfect. I wanted every pine needle picked up, every leaf picked up. It’s been very good for me to realize people would love the garden even if it’s not perfect.”

To the people who visited the garden, it sure seemed perfect. Many people stopped Felker to compliment her garden or ask questions about how she created it.

“Their vision amazes me,” said Coeur d’Alene resident Barb Haugen. “I can’t imagine the time and work it takes.”

Felker said welcoming people into her garden made her feel connected to the community.

“I needed this in my life,” she said.

Among the most beautiful in this year’s group of gardens is that of Claudia Lowery and Bob Bloem, a labor of love 20 years in the making.

Nestled at the edge of a forest in Hayden, the hillside property feels much larger than 1 acre and embraces the natural character of the land.

The upper half of the garden is like something out of a fairy tale, with clear waterfalls, vine-covered archways and numerous places to sit and soak in the views.

The lower half is the “forest garden,” designed in a Japanese style and with foliage providing some relief from the heat of the day. The paths — narrow, winding and steep — are designed to force visitors to move slowly and deliberately as they explore the garden and discover its many quiet hideaways.

In one area, wooden steps lead to a small and charming treehouse, decorated inside with bells and wildlife illustrations. Following the path uphill leads visitors past a bubbling water feature and then to a one-room shelter with a pair of seats inside, with windows overlooking the forest below.

“This would be a great place to hide from your kids,” one woman joked as she ducked inside.

Garden Tour Committee Chair Judy Feldner said about 850 tickets were sold for this year’s tour, with proceeds benefiting local charities and North Idaho College scholarships.

Each garden showcases the owner’s skills and love for what they do, Feldner said.

“These are all dedicated garden owners,” she said. “It’s their passion.”

    Charise Maynes Felker points out an element of her garden design to a visitor Sunday.
  

    Striking blue delphinium draws the eye in a Hayden garden.
  

    The Hayden garden of Claudia Lowery and Bob Bloem is full of charming details.
  

    This quiet hideaway at the top of a hill is one of several in the Hayden garden of Claudia Lowery and Bob Bloem.