Sofer's garden tour

Hey Dahlia I think we should take a trip to Kalispell! But not just yet!

Fabulous garden Sofer!

No kiddin fancyvan. I'm in.

This is from the other side of the back yard. We will now move back to the front through the roadway to leaving the yard and garden.
You must wait for at least June through October to see the garden in its highlights. All are welcome to visit. Picante is the only one who has. Lots of room in our home for visitors and lots to see all around the area.

This message was edited Jan 22, 2009 7:12 PM

This is fall moving from back yard to the right to front yard. We will stay in the fall until exit.

This is the same bed we started with with the Larkspur. I am walking out the drive way to look back at our house.

OOOOH! AAAAh!

Your gardens are fabulous. I would love to see them firsthand. We are going on a 3 week motorcycle trip this summer to Oklahoma, (honeymoon). Maybe we will have to go via Kallispell! We have friends in Glendive, Mt, and we were going to visit them as well. No worries, we are not a group of Hell's Angels. He is a firefighter (27 yrs on Dept) and I am a retired loan officer.

OK, I'm hungry - anyone else? Sof - what's on the BBQ? I'm making banana bread so I'll bring that along. The temps are hovering at 78°, right? Light breeze, you say? Sure thing. And if I'm not mistaken those Lilies are going to pop anyday.

Oh, how very pleasant to be warm, and surrounded by the treasures we have been given to enjoy to the fullest: the colours, textures & scents all to be celebrated, and celebrated well.
I just would love to be able to jump onto my google earth carpet, and fly over that fast. It's a big one - I can even haul small trees on it!

Hope it can time travel too, Katye if you want 78!

Just gorgeous Steve......everywhere you look it's beautiful, your summer must be filled with an abundance of color.

Lynn you are always welcome. I am home a lot next year and would love to have visitors. Have had 3 from DG so far. It is a beautiful area. Your friends in Glendive would give you a nice trip through Glacier but the bugs over on the other side of the Rockies would give you plenty of food along the ride. Just a shot of you trip over the rockies.
Kayte the bbq is waiting. Just don't forget the trees I need a few yet.
Just listening to a little "Who Next"

Awesome!!!! Gives me the shivers!

And another little stream nearby in Glacier.

Thank you for your generous offer. Let me know what you would like us to bring you from here. We will be pulling a little motorcycle trailer, so there will be room for a few cuttings or small plants. We have ridden through Montana, and it is a very beautiful ride.

Are you also a professional photographer? Your pictures are absolutely breath taking.

A walk with my sister in Law a little upstream. The colors of the rock don't show much here I will show one more picture before closing my eyes.
Lynn you don't have to bring anything but yourselves. I was just talking to Kayte and giving her a tough time.

This message was edited Jan 22, 2009 10:22 PM

This is what is waiting for anyone who wants to take a short walk where God lives.
No, actually the last 2 photographs were taken by my sister in Law.

I am in Awe, Steve.
I never realised that when you said I did a good job on a project of mine, that you where being sincere, you have joked with me so much, it was hard to believe you. After seeing your home and what you have done. You showed me Sophie's place when I was trying to get a idea on Buddy's Place. But what I want to know is how you have done it when you are never home. You are a Great Man.

I do admire the beauty of Ponderosa Pine. The bark, the whorls of needles, the majestic height....They are one of my favorite trees even though there aren't any near where i live. I almost bought a piece of land way out in the boonies near Goldendale because it had a stand of Ponderosas. I came to my senses realizing I didn't have any job there and not much prospect of getting one within 50 miles.

All your plants are just gorgeous. That tiger sumac is incredible. Are they adaptable to the pacific NW climate? Also, what is the small weeping tree that looks like it had red or orange berries?

I was thinking the same thing Tills.

It is indeed a little piece of heaven Steve. Love the power in that waterfall.

My DW is also a partner in all we have done so don't give me all the credit.

What a sweet picture! Is that monarda behind you or something else entirely?

That is a very charming picture. BTW, how is she feeling?

Holly, they will grow here I have one. was in my tour.
Great Pic.

This message was edited Jan 22, 2009 9:51 PM

Your wife looks so wise and patient. You have a very mischevious smile. It is quite apparent that you two have a very good respect, love, and understanding of each other.

Job well done to you both!

Yes that is Monarda. My mischevious smile is because I was pinching her on the bottom to get her to smile. And yes she is wise and patient. How else could she live with me. She is doing ok but none of the drugs we can afford have worked. So we are waiting to change our financing and step into the expensive stuff. I just don't know how a drug can cost over $3,000- 4,000 a shot? O well some body's making money.
This is the front of our house with lots of rocks that we have collected.

This is a whole area of garden I have left out because it is still in the process of soil making. I though wanted to show you how woodland collections have added to my next phase of use. This is just a stump that I will plant around and incorporate into the garden. I have gathered several of these and plan on using them in my new woodland garden.

Steve, if it's any consolation, I'm in the same stinkin' boat with those silly shots! On my insurance plan, they only cover 50% of my prescriptions. They want to try me on either: humira, remicaide, or enbril. I can't afford the co-pay on any of those. So, for a while I did methotrexate, until the side affects drove me insane. Now, I'm "temporarily" on a different chemo drug until I can find a way to afford one of those other ones. So, I wish you both luck. I'm sure that her doc. has told her about companies/programs that help to cover copays? She might have better luck with those than I did. A couple of them, I qualified for, but I had to spend $5k of my own first and then they would cover the rest up until $50k. For one, I can't find 5K to fork over. For two, It wouldn't take long to reach $50k... then what? Anyhow.... you're brave troopers. I sure hope that something works out soon!

Soferdig, those photos are incredible and gave me goosebumps to look at them. How lucky you are to live so close to such grand beauty. Someday, I would love to head up that way. WOW! I just can't get over how beautiful it is.

Your area is indeed beautiful. So majestic. Kudos to both you and your wife for creating such a great place!
The situation with the drugs is outrageous. I wonder what the best solution for healthcare in our country is. My first response is universal care but I don't have enough knowledge to make a really informed opinion. As someone who is so affected, what is your opinion?

One last natural aspect of our garden is the wonderful rocks that we are able to collect on every hike and canoe trip we do. Over years of overweighted backpacks our collection surrounds our house. Karen has carefully arranged each bed with a spectacular design to make our rock beds a walk to observe what the creation story was in each rock. We have purple, green, and solid blue pudding stone. Much of our red stones come down from Canada on the glaciers. We don't have any conglomerate pudding stone (stones with small colored stones in them) here but my DW and I have collected thousands of pounds from her farm in Michigan. Good thing we have a diesel car that can carry a thousand pounds each trip back.

Well politics aren't allowed on Daves and my position would involve the massive greed of the human medical world.
Now we leave our home and pass by the greeting stone at the top of our driveway. It is a welcome to all DGers who would like to visit the great Flathead valley and Glacier National park.

Driving away and looking back at the house. You can see how well the Virgina Creeper has done. We do suffer with white flies on occasion but it only affects a small area before the wasps wipe them out. We encourage wasps here and do occasionally get stung but they are magnificent in keeping aphids and white flies to a minimum.

Someone asked for a photo of winter and I realized that I had but few. This is looking out my sunroom towards the elk below over my wagon wheel compost area. Some day I will have to shoot some of the beautiful crystal clear sunny winter days we occasionally have.

Since you posted your greeting stone, I just can't resist. Here's a photo of it in its lovely context. So Karen is the rock arrangement artist. Aha!

Many of us are dealing with autoimmune disease and other chronic conditions. I won't get into the politics/economics of disease care, but I will mention that reading anti-establishment authors has saved my ability to function, at the very least. I have books such as:
Stop the Thyroid Madness
Health and Nutrition Secrets
Excitotoxins. The Taste That Kills
World Without Cancer
The Cancer Industry
It's All in Your Head
Worried Sick

Patient-to-patient websites are a goldmine for my health. Bless all these people for speaking up.

The view driving away from the house is so pretty - how can you bear to leave? Thank you for the snow/winter photo. It must be fun to watch the garden change from winter to spring. You and Karen have been very busy hauling rocks!

Steve - I agree with you regarding the massive greed.....saw it first hand as I was married to an MD for 28 years.....

Picante I also have an autoimmune disease - celiac disease diagnosed at UCSF after years of being sick - but I am so lucky because I can totally control it by avoiding all traces of gluten. It's not difficult to do and I don't mind at all - have been doing it for 3 years and feel great and all symptoms gone. Anyone dealing with a chronic condition that requires more invasive treatment and drugs, and often has dire consequences - has my complete sympathy. I'm glad you found something that helps.

Your home and surrounding landscape, planned and natural are truly inviting. It looks almost as good in the winter. You and your DW have done a wonderful job creating a beautiful haven. Thanks for sharing.

Sofer - sorry for changing the subject on your garden tour thread. My brain just does not work rationally anymore!

Thank you so much for sharing your lovely garden with us. It is so beautiful and inspiring. I think your area is one of the most spectacular in the country, if not the world. I want to take a road trip this summer and visit those wonderful mountains!

Hey Sofer maybe you should have a round up down there!