Aug. 4 Column: Local Gardener Profile John & Pat Hagney

One of the favorite aspects of my job as a garden writer is that I get to meet other gardeners. And not just “any” gardeners, mind you. I meet awesome, inspiring gardeners all over the country. It has been a goal of mine to write a local gardener profile during the summer months. I know we can all learn from these wonderful folks.

That’s the topic of my column for today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Teachers bring artistic flair to South Hill garden. You can also read my column below. And don’t forget to watch this week’s video underneath it!

I had the privilege of meeting John and Pat Hagney recently for this local gardener profile. They live on Spokane’s South side and have a fabulous garden.

I took quite a lot of photos of their garden during my visit. You can view many of them at the bottom of this post (below the video). The daylilies were gorgeous, as were the containers that flanked their back porch steps (right).

Column:

When two artistic gardeners collaborate, the result is a lovely landscape that is a feast for the eyes. Such is the case with John and Pat Hagney’s garden.

John Hagney teaches art history and European history at Lewis & Clark High School. Pat is newly-retired after a lengthy career as an art teacher for District 81.

In 1994, they bought their South Hill home, partly because it had a nice rose garden. It didn’t take them long to discover the yard had even more potential.

“We thought the lot was much smaller,” Pat Hagney explained. “That’s because there was a fence across the midway point of the backyard,” Pat Hagney explained. “Then we found out the lot was twice as deep and began to think about its potential.”

They started formulating a plan. First, they removed a large walnut tree that had been damaged during the 1996 ice storm. That opened up additional space in the garden and increased the amount of light.

 “Pat has done a good job of creating this garden,” John Hagney said. “That’s because she’s an artist and has a good sense of color. We’ve also been positively impacted by neighbors who take a lot of pride in their gardens.”

Flowers in the garden

The Hagneys recently welcomed me to their garden. My first views were of cheerful yellow marigolds started from seed by John. They line the curving front walkway. As do lush plantings of hydrangeas, hostas and coral bells at the edge of the lawn.

The back porch steps hold pots that beckoned me to stop and savor the colorful combinations. Annual flowers and herbs were planted with geraniums, coleus, stunning new petunia cultivars and basil. The Hagneys have found container plants flourish when they sow seeds directly in the pots rather than transplanting seedlings.

Pat’s favorite perennial is the daylily. She purchased most from catalogs and her color choices are absolutely stunning. She loves how easy it is to divide them in the fall to make more plants. They are accompanied by beautiful roses.

I enjoyed studying their lush perennial beds, filled with plants primarily from Friends of Manito plant sales. Their selections include hostas, astilbes, geraniums, peonies, phlox, daylilies, pulmonarias, ferns and goatsbeard. The occasional ceramic pot of petunias accented each bed.

Vegetables in the garden

John’s domain is the vegetable garden. He grows heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, Romanesco broccoli and cauliflower (orange Cheddar and white cultivars). There are also potatoes, Musica pole beans, butternut squash and herbs. The plants receive sunlight from early morning to early afternoon, which is sufficient for them to thrive.

They use a small greenhouse to start plants from seed. One of John’s specialties is the Frances Hoffman’s Choice shrub marigolds, which can grow up to 6 feet in height.

Of particular interest to John is the concept of eco-psychology. It centers around the psychological benefits of connecting with the natural world.

“This year, we didn’t get into our gardens until March due to our long winter. By that time, I was depressed,” he said. “I like the tranquility of the garden. In the morning, I’m often stressed about something. After a few hours in the garden, I bet my blood pressure is much lower.”

While the Hagneys both enjoy being out in the garden, their careers have enabled them to create such a special space.

“As teachers, we’ve had summers off from school,” John Hagney said. “If that hadn’t been the case, we wouldn’t have gotten the yard to this point.”

This week’s video:

For this week’s “Everyone Can Grow a Garden” video, I felt it was time for an update on how our vegetable garden is doing. After all, it’s been a month! So this is the 3rd update. (you can also watch the first vegetable garden tour or the second one by going to these links.)

This week’s veggie tour is 23 minutes long. Sorry about that. But there was a lot to show you with some tips and explanations along the way. I hope you’ll enjoy it nonetheless and I promise to make subsequent videos much shorter!

And here are more photos of John and Pat Hagney’s garden. Remember that you can click on any of the photos to view a much larger image.