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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Lakeridge Park

 Lakeridge Park

 Lakeridge Park April 2010

 Lakeridge Park April 2010

Lysichiton americanus in Lakeridge Park April 2010

Taylor Creek in Lakeridge Park April 2010

As you walk on the 1.6 mile trail along Taylor Creek in Dead Horse Canyon, Lakeridge Park seems more of a wilderness area than a Seattle city park.  It is filled with Washington native plants.  There are Alder, Maple, Cedar, Douglas Fir & Hemlock trees.  The understory is populated with Sword Fern, Salmon Berry, Fringecup, even Skunk Cabbage.  Lakeridge Park is located on Rainier Avenue S at 68th Avenue S.  A playing field lies along Rainier Avenue S.  Drive up 68th Avenue S until you see the sign for Lakeridge Park-Dead Horse Canyon-Taylor Creek & Trail.  The park is not very far south from Rainier Beach

Friday, April 23, 2010

Denny Blaine Lake Park

 
Denny Blaine Lake Park Shelter April 2010

Denny Blaine Lake Park April 2010

Denny Blaine Lake Park April 2010

 
Denny Blaine Lake Park April 2010

This small park in Madrona is perhaps Seattle's most beautiful bus stop.  The 0.19 acre Denny Blaine Lake Park contains a rustic Craftsman shelter built in 1901.  The remainder of the park is almost entirely occupied by a fairly large pond filled with waterlilies.  I have driven by the park many times, but never stopped.  In truth, you can see it all from Madrona Drive.  But the shelter merits closer inspection.  I would never have guessed that the pond was inhabited by at least 1 turtle, if I hadn't stopped to look.  You can find the park on Madrona Drive between Madrona Place & Maiden Lane.  Make it part of a pleasant walk or ride between the Madrona business district on 34th Avenue at Union Street & Madrona Park where Madrona Drive ends at Lake Washington Boulevard.  Take the 2 Madrona Park bus from Downtown Seattle or 1st Hill.

Here is a history of the park & the Denny Blaine Lake Park Shelter from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: This architecturally distinctive structure was initially constructed about 1901 to serve as an office for the Denny-Blaine Land Company. In 1901, real estate developers Charles L. Denny and Elbert F. Blaine filed a plat for their Denny-Blaine Lake Park subdivision and constructed this building along the route of the streetcar line. Some ten years earlier, a company headed by J.D. Lowman had established an electric trolley line, first called the Union Trunk Line, and had developed Madrona Park along the shores of Lake Washington at its terminus. Denny and Blaine owned a large parcel of land at the top of the ravine through which the streetcar ran on its way down to the lake. Once they filed their plat, they constructed this building as an office from which to conduct real estate sales. The building also featured a waiting room for passengers of the streetcar line. Denny and Blaine apparently constructed the building so that it could be converted for use as a waiting and picnic shelter after it was no longer necessary to use it as a real estate office. The structure shared an irregular parcel of land with a small park containing a pool. Denny and Blaine had dedicated and developed the park as part of their plat. After the realty office had ceased to function as such, it reverted to its intended use as a waiting shelter. Initially, the windows, doors and interior walls remained. However, by 1924, problems with vandalism made it necessary to remove all of these features, leaving an open, roofed shelter with the DENNY BLAINE LAKE PARK sign still on the roof. This structure is significant for its design and for its associations with one of Seattle’s earliest modes of mass public transportation, the streetcar lines, and with the development of the Madrona/Denny Blaine neighborhood.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Volunteer Park Trees

 
Sequoiadendron giganteum in Volunteer Park April 2010

Acer macrophyllum in Volunteer Park April 2010

 Arbutus menziesii in Volunteer Park April 2010

Cercidiphyllum japonicum in Volunteer Park April 2010

Cedrus atlantica in Volunteer Park April 2010

I think Volunteer Park is the greatest park in Seattle.  Not only is the park beautiful, but it has a number of first-rate attractions including the Volunteer Park Conservatory, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, Isamu Noguchi's Black Sun & the panoramic views from the Water Tower.  In addition, there are some very big & beautiful trees, some of the biggest trees in Seattle.  You can probably find bigger specimens in other parts of the city.  But in Volunteer Park they are gathered together in a beautiful setting.  The park is easily reached from Downtown Seattle by the 10 Capitol Hill bus, which stops at the park.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Tea & Trilliums

Tamias townsendii April 17, 2010

Pseudotrillium rivale April 17, 2010

 
Trillium grandiflorum April 17, 2010

Trillium kurabayashii April 17, 2010

I was invited to the Tea & Trilliums event in exchange for opening my garden to the Hardy Plant Society of Washington & the Northwest Rock Garden Society in August.  I am not a member of either group, but I want to see more of their gardens.  Even though I love Trilliums, my favorite was the chipmunk.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Seattle Cherry Blossoms

Prunus serrulata in Madison Park April 2010

Prunus serrulata along Lake Washington Boulevard April 2010

Prunus serrulata in Mt Baker March 2010

Prunus serrulata in Knudsen Park April 2010

Prunus serrulata in Knudsen Park April 2010

It is cherry blossom time in Seattle, as anyone here can tell you.  Prunus serrulata has been blooming throughout the city for several weeks.  The Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival will be held at Seattle Center in the Center House & Fisher Pavilion April 16-18, 2010.  A stone lantern, located at Seward Park, was given to Seattle in 1929 by the citizens of Yokohama in gratitude for the aid Seattleites provided after the earthquake of 1923.  The Seattle Japanese community then donated 3,500 cherry trees to Seattle to commemorate that gift. The trees were planted in Seward Park, along Lake Washington Boulevard & on the University of Washington campus.  The Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates Japan's gift of 1,000 cherry trees to Seattle in 1976 as part of the U.S. Bicentennial celebration.  Hanami (blossom viewing) has been an important spring rite in Japan for over 1,000 years.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tulips at the Pike Place Market

Tulips at the Pike Place Market April 2010

Tulips at the Pike Place Market April 2010

 Tulips at the Pike Place Market April 2010

You don't have to go all the way to the Skagit Valley to see tulips.  They've conveniently found their way to the Pike Place Market.  You'll see tulips there by the thousands in an eye-popping display that should last through the month of April.  The market is easily reached by public transportation, just 3 blocks from the Seattle Transit Tunnel Westlake Station

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Yao Japanese Garden at the Bellevue Botanical Garden

Yao Japanese Garden March 2010

Yao Japanese Garden March 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

  Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

The Yao Japanese Garden at the Bellevue Botanical Garden is a serenely beautiful place.  Every part of the Bellevue Botanical Garden is lovely.  It seems constantly to be improved.  The Bellevue Botanical Garden is the closest thing the Seattle area has to a world-class public botanical garden.  The Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle is obviously trying to catch up & perhaps it will.  Indeed, the Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum is more impressive.  But the Yao Japanese Garden has a relaxed & intimate feel, while many Japanese gardens seem over-groomed & rigid.  The Yao Japanese Garden is easy stroll, along a wide path, at the edge of the woodland, not far from the main entrance.  Yao is Bellevue's Japanese sister city.  Perhaps the most beautiful & certainly the largest Japanese garden in the Seattle area is Kubota Garden in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Paeonia suffruticosa 'Zi Er Giao'


Paeonia suffruticosa 'Zi Er Giao' April 2010

Paeonia suffruticosa 'Zi Er Jiao' April 2010

Paeonia suffruticosa 'Zi Er Qiao' April 2010

I know I'm showing off a bit, but I have the most beautiful plant in my garden.  I feel compelled to share the pictures.  It's Paeonia suffruticosa 'Zi Er Giao.'  The plant was imported from China, the name transliterated from Chinese.  The spelling for English speakers varies.  I've seen it spelled 'Zi Er Jiao' & 'Zi Er Qiao.'  The name means 'Purple Two Sisters.'  Two Sisters is a famous Chinese opera & also a bi-color Chinese Tree Peony that was the parent of this plant.  (Or so I've been told.)  If you search images you will be directed only to this blog, this one plant.  I bought it at the Holly Park Greenhouse & Nursery in 2004.  You may find it there now.  'Zi Er Giao' has grown more slowly than the other Tree Peonies in my garden.  That has been a good thing, because it is the only one that has not needed to be staked.  It is also the most beautiful.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Petasites frigidus var. palmatus

Petasites frigidus var. palmatus in the Genessee Meadow March 2010

Petasites frigidus var. palmatus in the Genessee Meadow March 2010

Petasites frigidus var. palmatus in Genessee Meadow March 2010

Petasites frigidus var. palmatus is a Washington native plant that grows in moist & shaded places mostly west of the Cascade Mountains.  Arctic Sweet Coltsfoot (the common name) also grows along the Pacific Northwest coast from northern California to Alaska, across the northern tier of the eastern United States & across Canada.  In Seattle, you will find it growing in boggy places such as the Washington Park Arboretum & the Genessee Meadow.  It spreads fairly aggressively in moist, shaded conditions.  That might not be a bad thing, if you are the sort of gardener who doesn't want to put a lot of effort or money into your swampy garden.  It would be less likely to spread in a drier spot.  In fact, it would be unlikely to survive in my dry hilltop garden.