Lakewold Gardens

Former home of Eulalie Wagner

Swimming pool designed by Thomas Church

Rose-covered gazebo

A path through the woods 

Garden wall with Actinidia kolomikta 'Arctic Beauty' (Hardy Kiwi Vine)

Parterre near the house with Gravelly Lake in the background.  Photos taken in May 2015

Click here to see more photos of Lakewold Gardens.

Lakewold Gardens covers 10 acres on the shore of Gravelly Lake in Lakewood, the southern suburb of Tacoma, Washington.  This is a beautiful garden, surely worth a visit & not far from Interstate 5.

The property was first developed in 1908, but really came into its present form after it was purchased by G. Corydon & Eulalie Wagner in 1938.  The Wagners hired Thomas Church to design the major elements of the garden in 1958.  Based in San Francisco, Thomas Church was one of the most famous landscape architects of his time.  He continued to visit the garden to suggest improvements.  You can see his work in the brick walk, parterres & swimming pool, an unusual mixture of modern & vintage European styles.

Lakewold Gardens also contains quite a lot of woods near the lake & lawn surrounding the house.  The drive is lined with tall Douglas firs & Rhododendron.  Over 900 Rhododendron grow in these gardens.  There is a very charming perennial garden behind the house.

Eulalie Wagner donated the property to the Friends of Lakewold in 1987 to be maintained as a public garden. The State of Washington has made Lakewold Gardens a historic landmark.

Woodland Park Rose Garden

The Woodland Park Rose Garden in June 2014

The Woodland Park Rose Garden covers 2.5 acres at the south entrance to the Woodland Park Zoo, outside the zoo grounds, at the intersection of N 50th Street and Fremont Avenue N, on Phinney Ridge in Seattle.  There are 200 varieties of roses & 3,000 individual plants.  It is one of only two dozen certified American Rose Test Gardens in the United States.  The garden is maintained by the Woodland Park Zoo Society.  Construction of the rose garden was completed in 1924 & originally covered 1.8 acres.  The art deco heritage clearly shows in the design of the pool & frieze behind it.  While not a very small garden, it has an intimate feel, in great contrast to the sprawling Washington Park International Rose Test Garden in Portland, OR.  I have seen a number of other rose gardens, within much larger botanical gardens.  None of them had the subtle charm Seattle's largest rose garden.  There is also the much smaller Helen Sutton Rose Garden located at the South Seattle College Arboretum.

Ell Alley Garden

Native forest garden

Native forest garden

Native meadow

Native meadow

Native & non-native plants in the patio garden.  Photos taken in May 2015.

This is my new garden in Rainier Vista, a neighborhood in Seattle just one mile from my old garden, the Cascadia Garden.  It is 18 months now (May 2015) since I first began to work on this garden.  It has grown amazingly fast, perhaps because it has grown entirely in Cedar Grove compost delivered in November of 2013.  The native soil is clay.  I left that alone & planted in the compost I spread over the clay.  We call this house Ell Alley, because it sits in the ell of 2 alleys that divide our block of 19 new homes into 3 parts.  The Ell Alley Garden also has 3 parts.  The largest part is a Pacific Northwest Coast native garden.  There are also 2 parts with mostly non-native plants, one under the large ash tree in the front & another, much smaller garden, between the patio & the parking pad in the back.

In the native garden, I have used plants that grow in the region that stretches along the coast from northern California to the Alaskan panhandle.  Some plants are shared throughout this area & others do not occur naturally in western Washington.  There is a shaded portion that is planted with forest plants & a sunnier area that is more of a meadow.  I won't include the long plant list here, but it includes Acer circinatum (Vine Maple) Asarum caudatum (Wild Ginger) Blechnum spicant (Deer Fern) Erigeron glaucus (Beach Aster) Fragaria chiloensis (Sand Strawberry) Iris douglasiana (Douglas Iris) Mahonia repens (Creeping Oregon Grape) Penstemon serrulatus (Cascade Beardtongue) Polystichum munitum (Sword Fern) Ribes sanquineum (Flowering Currant) Rubus parviflorus (Thimbleberry) Sambucus racemosa (Red Elderbery) Tellima grandiflora (Fringecup) & Tolmiea meinziesii (Piggyback Plant).

There are many places to find native plants in Seattle.  Many nurseries have sections devoted to native plants.  There are a number of native plants that are commonly used in gardens.  Those are available almost anywhere & include Acer circinatum (Vine Maple) Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnikinnick) Blechnum spicant (Deer Fern) Erigeron glaucus 'Sea Breeze' (Beach Aster) Polystichum munitum (Sword Fern) Ribes sanquineum (Flowering Currant) & 3 species of Mahonia (Oregon Grape) M. aquifolium, M. nervosa & M. repens.  An excellent source of native plants is at the annual Washington Native Plant Society plant sale.  The West Seattle Nursery had an excellent collection of native plants this year.

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area

Cobble Beach at Yaquina Head.  All photos were taken in April 2014.

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is truly outstanding.  The head is a model of scenic beauty.  Cobble Beach is an excellent place to peer into tide pools surrounded by birds & seals on the rocky islets & towering headlands.  The visitor's center is polished & informative.  It is set in a beautiful little valley between the high outcroppings of basalt that comprise the headlands.  There is ample parking.  Yaquina Head is easy to find just north of the Newport, OR city center on US Hwy 101.

View from the Visitor's Center.

Barbie's Garden

These photos were taken in October 2014.

Barbie's Garden is on my street in the next block south of my house.  The house was built in 2013, along with 11 others of the same shape & size (tall & narrow) in the Rainier Vista development in Seattle.  I call it Barbie's Garden because of the candy colors that remind me of Barbie's Dream House.  I spoke to the woman who lives there.  She told me the garden was created by her sister.  Plants in Barbie's Garden include Canna, Dahlia, Lantana, Zinnia & Pink Polka-Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) which is just perfect for Barbie.  Many of these are annual plants.  I wonder what will replace them next season.  It is the most interesting & best-maintained garden on that block & perhaps in all of Rainier Vista, which has a lot of dismal landscaping.

Darlingtonia State Natural Site

Darlingtonia californica (Cobra Lily)

Darlingtonia State Natural Site in April 2014

Darlingtonia State Natural Site is a quick & interesting stop along the coast highway (US 101) in Florence, Oregon.  The site is a bog filled with a large number of cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica) a carnivorous plant.  An opening in the stalk of the plant leads insects to nectar inside. Once inside, the insect is trapped by downward-pointed hairs & falls into a pool of water at the bottom of the stalk.  It was once believed that this variety of pitcher plant did not produce any digestive enzymes & relied on symbiotic bacteria & protozoa to break down the captured insects into easily absorbed nutrients. Recent studies have indicated that Darlingtonia secretes at least one enzyme that digests captured prey. 

The cobra lily is unique among the three genera of American pitcher plants. It does not trap rainwater in its pitcher. Instead, it regulates the level of water inside physiologically by releasing or absorbing water into the trap from the roots. Cobra Lily is the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae (pitcher plants).  It is designated as uncommon due to its rarity in the field.  The plant was discovered in 1841 by the botanist William D. Brackenridge at Mount Shasta. It was named after the Philadelphia botanist William Darlington (1782–1863).   

Collecting Darlingtonia is illegal in Oregon.  It can be ordered online & grown outdoors in USDA zones 7-10.  The easiest way to do this is to put it in a pot of sphagnum moss & submerge the pot in a bowl of water or fountain.  Unglazed terracotta works well for this purpose.

Redwood in Lincoln Park

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in Lincoln Park October 2011

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in Lincoln Park October 2011

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in Lincoln Park October 2011

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in Lincoln Park October 2011

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in Lincoln Park October 2011

If you have been thinking about planting Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood) in Seattle, take a look at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.  There are at least 2 groves at the north end of the upper area of the park.  Redwoods are fairly common in Seattle parks, usually as single specimen trees.  It is unusual to find them in private gardens.  Oddly enough, it is more common to find Sequoiadendron giganteum (Sierra Redwood), a tree that takes up much more horizontal space, in private gardens here.  There is a 3rd redwood less commonly found in Seattle, the deciduous Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood).  Sequoia sempervirens can live more than 1,500 years & grow to a height of more than 300 hundred feet.  They are unlikely to grow to that size in a garden environment, even if left alone for 1,500 years.  But don't plant them too close to the house.  Young trees grow quickly, a big plus for gardeners in a hurry.  The Sunset Western Garden Book says that Coast Redwood can be planted 7 feet apart.  But I would give them more space, maybe 10 feet apart at a minimum. Sequoia sempervirens are native to northern California from the Oregon border to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Union Bay Natural Area

Union Bay Natural Area January 2013

The University of Washington from the Union Bay Natural Area January 2013

The shore of Lake Washington at the Union Bay Natural Area October 2011

Pond at the Union Bay Natural Area October 2011

Union Bay Natural Area December 2013

The Union Bay Natural Area is located near the University of Washington in Seattle.  It consists of marshy terrain on the shore of Lake Washington at Union Bay.  It covers 74 acres with 4 miles of shoreline.  It is the second largest natural system left on Lake Washington, the largest lake in western Washington.  Bird watching is particularly good here.  A wide & level trail can be accessed from the Center for Urban Horticulture on NE 41st Street.  I think this is an excellent place to visit during freezing weather, when the ponds are covered with ice & the rocky lake shore becomes partly frozen.  In summer, you can see Western Painted Turtles basking on logs in the water.

November in Seattle

These photos were taken in Sodo in November 2014.  Sodo stands for south of downtown & is also spelled SoDo & SODO.  It is the part of the Duwamish Industrial Area south from the Stadium District to Georgetown, between Beacon Hill & the Duwamish River.  It is a place filled with trucks, trains & old warehouses.  There are also stores, restaurants serving lunch to the people who work here & very few residences.

November 2014 in Seattle was slightly warmer & significantly drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 46.  The normal mean temperature is 45.4.  Total precipitation was 4.84 inches.  Normal precipitation is 6.57 inches.  The highest temperature was 62 on 11/6.  The lowest was 23 on 11/30.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 5 days with rain, 15 days with light rain, 1 day with light snow, 16 days with fog (2 of them with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 15 cloudy days,  7 partly cloudy days & 8 fair days.  November 2014 had an unusually high number of fair days.  There was a cold spell  of 7 days with lows between 28 & 32 from 11/12 to 11/18.  These days were 6 to 9 degrees below normal for each of those days.  Then 0.8 inches of snow fell on 11/29.

This is the last post on the weather in Seattle.  Future posts on various topics will be scheduled on the 1st Friday of every month.       

McGilvra Place

Bullitt Center in January 2014

 McGilvra Place in January 2014.  The trees are Platanus acerifolia (London Plane).

McGilvra Place in January 2014

Here you can see where they cut through the original retaining wall.

Here is a bioswale in front of the Bullitt Center where 15th Avenue used to exist.  All photos were taken in January 2014.

McGilvra Place is a small, tree-shaded triangle at the intersection of E Madison Street, E Pike Street & 15th Avenue.  McGilvra Place was created in 1901. The small triangle of land was named after John J McGilvra, whose home was on Lake Washington at the end of the road which became E Madison Street.  McGilvra Place was redeveloped in the spring of 2013.  The original park was lawn above a low concrete retaining wall, with 11 London Plane Trees (Platanus acerifolia) between the curbs & sidewalks.  The small stretch of 15th Avenue was closed to traffic & integrated into the existing park with paving & planting, partly as a bioswale.  Cuts were made in the retaining wall to allow stairs & a path through the center of the park.  Lawn was replaced with native plants.  Benches were set in place.

The Bullitt Center had been completed next to McGilvra Place in April 2012.  The Bullitt Center was designed to be the greenest commercial building in the world, energy & carbon neutral, with a water & sewage processing system that allowed the building to be independent of municipal water & sewage systems. Energy neutrality was achieved with a large solar panel array on the roof of the building, along with energy conservation measures that cut the building's energy consumption to approximately a third of a typical office building of similar size.

During the redevelopment of McGilvra Place, great care was taken to protect and celebrate eleven century-old London Plane trees on the site. Other improvements include transforming an adjacent street to a public plaza, replacing turf with native vegetation, installing park furniture made of reclaimed timber, and providing improved accessibility to the site. Construction began in February 2013 and was completed in April 2013. - See more at: http://www.bullittcenter.org/field/mcgilvra-place/#sthash.QF1I0Hh3.dpuf

During the redevelopment of McGilvra Place, great care was taken to protect and celebrate eleven century-old London Plane trees on the site. Other improvements include transforming an adjacent street to a public plaza, replacing turf with native vegetation, installing park furniture made of reclaimed timber, and providing improved accessibility to the site. Construction began in February 2013 and was completed in April 2013.
The project was undertaken through a public / private collaboration between Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Parks Foundation and the Bullitt Foundation.
- See more at: http://www.bullittcenter.org/field/mcgilvra-place/#sthash.QF1I0Hh3.dpuf

 

During the redevelopment of McGilvra Place, great care was taken to protect and celebrate eleven century-old London Plane trees on the site. Other improvements include transforming an adjacent street to a public plaza, replacing turf with native vegetation, installing park furniture made of reclaimed timber, and providing improved accessibility to the site. Construction began in February 2013 and was completed in April 2013.
The project was undertaken through a public / private collaboration between Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Parks Foundation and the Bullitt Foundation.
- See more at: http://www.bullittcenter.org/field/mcgilvra-place/#sthash.QF1I0Hh3.dpuf

During the redevelopment of McGilvra Place, great care was taken to protect and celebrate eleven century-old London Plane trees on the site. Other improvements include transforming an adjacent street to a public plaza, replacing turf with native vegetation, installing park furniture made of reclaimed timber, and providing improved accessibility to the site. Construction began in February 2013 and was completed in April 2013.
The project was undertaken through a public / private collaboration between Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Parks Foundation and the Bullitt Foundation.
- See more at: http://www.bullittcenter.org/field/mcgilvra-place/#sthash.QF1I0Hh3.dpuf

During the redevelopment of McGilvra Place, great care was taken to protect and celebrate eleven century-old London Plane trees on the site. Other improvements include transforming an adjacent street to a public plaza, replacing turf with native vegetation, installing park furniture made of reclaimed timber, and providing improved accessibility to the site. Construction began in February 2013 and was completed in April 2013.
The project was undertaken through a public / private collaboration between Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Parks Foundation and the Bullitt Foundation.
- See more at: http://www.bullittcenter.org/field/mcgilvra-place/#sthash.QF1I0Hh3.dpuf