A friend said Judy started The Ivy on Pullman's Main Street. Later moved it, renamed The Wild Ivy, to Bishop Boulevard. "It was an incredible store. She had incredible taste. She just bought the neatest things to sell. It was all high quality items. She sold (The Wild Ivy) to retire, to be with her grandkids and garden."
==In 1990 “The Ivy” opened in downtown Pullman at 209 East Main St.
==In 1999 “The Ivy” moved from downtown Pullman to 275 SE Bishop Blvd. at Wheatland Center and changed its name to “Wild Ivy."
==In 2003 “Wild Ivy” was sold by Judy and Ben Finch.
Judith M. Finch
JUDITH MARIE (EGGLESTON) FINCH
Judith M. Finch, 79, passed away Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with her family by her side.
Judy was born June 24, 1941, at Lewiston and in 1959 graduated from Garfield High School.
Judy was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother and is survived by her husband, Benjamin Finch; son David Arrasmith and his wife, Elizabeth; and her two grandchildren, Katie and Ben Arrasmith. She loved nothing more than being a grandma.
Judy was a friend and mentor to many in her small town of Palouse and was known for her love of gardening. She created amazing gardens at her home in Palouse and hosted many weddings and enjoyed sharing her beautiful roses.
Judy was also very involved in her community. She spent many hours working in the rose garden downtown and the Tony Kettel Skate Garden.
Her tremendous generosity and kind heart will be forever missed by her family and friends.
At her request, there will be no formal services and memorials may be given to a local Palouse community charity of the donor’s choice.
Kramer Funeral Home of Palouse is caring for the family. Online condolences may be left at www.kramercares.com.
::::::
IMPETUOUS GARDENER
Palouse home has charming gardener at
helm
By
Sydney Craft Rozen, Moscow Pullman Daily News, June 30, 2012
The sign on the white-washed shed said, "Beautiful gardens
are not made by sitting in the shade." Inside the small building, the
floor was decoupaged with collages of sheet music, all with a flower theme,
botanical drawings of flowers and Renaissance women's faces. The floor seemed
too lovely to step on, but Judy Finch uses this room as her crafts studio - and
as her window onto her magnificent garden in Palouse, Wash.
"I can't see my garden from our house," she said, but
in her crafts studio, "every window is framing the garden."
A trilling chorus of birdsong is the perfect background music
for a walk through Judy Finch's garden. The entrance is a curving sweep of
peonies, roses and irises, all in the summer sorbet shades of pink, magenta and
peach, with watermelon poppies as a striking accent.
An elongated oval garden whispers "peace" with its
calming white and cream shades of foxgloves, lupines, poppies, delphiniums and
roses. In another bed, dramatic, white peonies with yellow stigmae stand out
among the pink roses.
Yellow and purple irises complement the lavender and yellow columbines
planted nearby. Lenten roses and hostas, with intricate foliage patterns on
blue-green leaves, grow in the shade. A grape arbor forms the backdrop to the
vegetable and herb-raised beds. Another arbor supports fragrant honeysuckle
vines.
"In the evening, it's stunning here," Judy said.
"The setting sun backlights the garden."
Her garden was stunning in mid-afternoon, too, when I visited
last Saturday during the Palouse Home and Garden Tour. Proceeds from this, the
final tour, benefited the preservation of Holy Trinity Chapel, a state and
national historic landmark in Palouse.
An umbrella of delicate white flowers cascades on a tall stem
above a cluster of rhubarb-like leaves, and draws visitors' eyes. The plant's
Latin name is crambecordifolia. Considering the interest in this plant from the
garden's tourists, local nurseries would be wise to keep it in stock this
season.
The gardens are the work of 20 years, Judy said, but mainly in
the last 10 years, after she sold Wild Ivy, her home and garden store in
Pullman. "Then I went bonkers" with gardening, she said. "I
wanted more and more...and then I'd say, 'Oh my god, what have I done?' "
Her gardening mentor is Dolores Sanchez of Moscow, who, with her husband Dick, has created an English garden in her yard that can leave visitors swooning.
"I stepped into her garden and never looked back," Judy
said. Delores Sanchez spent Saturday in Judy's garden to help answer tourists'
questions about the many plant and flower varieties.
Judy's son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren live on the
Finches' property, so "the grandkids have been in the garden since day
one," she said. Her garden holds art that seems as interesting to children
as to adults. Birdhouses and feeders, rustic sculptures of a crow, tulip, watering
can, kiddy car and windmill, and a child's swing swaying from a tree branch,
all blend with the flowers, vegetables, trees and fruits that comprise the
acreage. My own favorite among the garden art was the cupola from a vintage
barn, with a jaunty rooster weather vane at the top.
Judy's husband offers occasional help for digging holes for rose
bushes and trees. She also recently hired a college student to help her spread
450 bags of steer manure around her garden beds. Otherwise, she does all the
work herself - weeding, planting, pruning and transplanting.
"I live out here (in the garden). I don't cook too many
meals or do too much dusting."
She smiled, in the way certain impetuous gardeners smile. For
Judy Finch, gardening is a passion. "You have no control over it. I'm a
much nicer person when I'm in the garden."
Arboretum update
The summer flowering season continues to unfold at the
University of Idaho Arboretum and Botanical Garden, reports Paul Warnick,
horticulturist.
"The Peking tree lilacs are finishing out the lilac season.
They form a hedge just below the kiosk at the north end of the Arboretum. They
flower from early summer sporadically throughout the summer months, with big
clusters of creamy white flowers. They grow somewhat larger and more tree-form
than other lilacs, but they will always be small trees.
"The groundcover roses have started to flower on the bottom
of the east slope along the gravel road. The Drift series of roses continues to
be my favorite - but they all came through the winter well, and they should
make a nice show for the rest of the summer."
Sydney
Craft Rozen is a
Moscow writer.
::::::::::::::::::::::
NEW OWNERS
Biz Bits, Moscow Pullman
Daily News, Feb, 1, 2003
The Wild Ivy in Pullman has been sold. The new owners plan to
keep it exactly the way it is and retain most of the staff.
Robert and Cynthia Garrett of Endicott purchased the business
from Ben and Judy Finch, who owned the business for nearly 13 years. The
Finches are retiring.
The Wild Ivy is located at 275 S.E. Bishop Blvd. in the
Wheatland Center.
The Garretts also own and operate Flowers and More in Colfax.
The Garretts, both born and raised in Endicott, weren't looking
to buy another business until Judy Finch called them, Cynthia Garrett said.
"The timing seemed right for everyone involved."
The Garretts recently returned from buying trips to markets in
Seattle, Atlanta and Florida. They've already started buying for the Christmas
season.
The Wild Ivy features gardening items, home accessories,
candles, potpourris, books, cards and paper goods.
Cynthia Garrett handles the day-to-day operation of the two
businesses. Robert keeps the books and farms the family land in Endicott.
"The response has been wonderful," she said. "We
look forward to meeting more Pullman people. Bob and I have been made to feel
very welcome.
As a special treat, the Garretts plan to have fresh roses
available at the Wild Ivy for Valentine's Day.
Business hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5
p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (509) 332-1403.
#
