Travels with George and Marta – Page 11 – Journeys in the Botanical World

Olympic Sculpture Garden

Posted on May 27, 2013 by MartaOctober 11, 2014

The Memorial Day forecast was dismal – cool and drizzle. It was a shame because this was the weekend of the low minus tides. It would have been a great time to explore the eel grass flats. We gave it a go on Sunday and it was interesting and tiring as usual but it just doesn’t have the extreme joy of a sunny day at the beach.

I remembered the native plantings at the Olympic Sculpture Garden so G and I drove downtown Seattle. We wanted to visit the Volunteer Park Conservatory but it is now closed on Mondays. I also forgot that there is now an admission charge. This is good – the glass houses are in need of repair.

I remembered a hidden parking area next to the Amgen building. We just had to find it. It was actually pretty easy to find by following the signs off Elliott. There is bridge just before the Magnolia Bridge which takes you over to the west side of the railroad tracks. The parking is south of the building just before the grain elevators.

First we did a walk over the Amgen Helix Bridge which connects the corporate campus with Elliott Way. Then we headed south along the pathway. Along the way, the port has created a rose garden in the section of the path called Centennial Park. I loved the David Austin Roses that were planted. Farther along the way, you catch the sight of the Space Needle top peeking over the office buildings and next to the old Post Intelligencer Globe. The demise of the PI was one of the early warning of the upcoming print media crisis.

The bay was gray but it was warm. Steam rose from the wet paths but soon the drizzle turned to sprinkles as we climbed up to the Olympic Sculpture Garden.

We walked along the curving path in the Grove. The Typewriter Eraser peeked out between the Aspens and the stark black of the Wandering Rocks were softened by the wild irises growing among the Pacific Northwest natives. The native plant gardens are really beautiful now after several years of growth.

We crossed under the watchful eye of Calder’s bright orange ‘The Eagle’. My absolute favorite though were the plantings just up from the Valley. The path was densely lined by beautiful Pacific Coast irises. The Dogwood trees were planted as accents and under foot were growths of wild strawberries.

We continued through The Wave and then back to the shore of the Bay. We were getting cold and hungry so we headed for a beer at Elysian Brewery in Tangletown. We were glad we were not in a cold wet tent camping as we have on past Memorial Days.

Amgen Bridge

Seagull with a starfish prize

Runners and walkers along the path

The Grove

Typewriter Eraser

The Eagle

Wild Pacific Coast Irises

The Wave

For a previous visit (in the sun!) – Olympic Sculpture Garden May 2010

Lakewold Garden

Posted on May 26, 2013 by MartaMay 26, 2013

Lakewold is our favorite garden in the region. It is wonderful early in Spring but a visit around Mother’s Day is also a time for many surprises. We were hunting for the Embothrium coccineum and we were not disappointed. The unfurling ferns were a delight but the best discovery of the day was a gorgeous lady slipper orchid. We visited last weekend on May 19th.

Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden

Posted on May 25, 2013 by MartaMay 25, 2013

The Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden is a little sleeper of a garden. It is located just under the take-off path north of SeaTac airport. The highlight of the garden is the Elda Belm’s Paradise Garden. This is a re-creation of her garden which was condemmed in 1997 to make way for the third runway at SeaTac. Thousands of her plants were relocated in 2000-2001.

It is also the site of the King County Iris Society beds. We visited on May 19th mainly to see the irises but also to enjoy the spring blooms in Elda Belm’s garden.

We missed the miniture iris but the large bearded irises were in full bloom as were many rhododendrons. It is worth a quick visit if you are in the South Seattle area.

Construction at Bellevue Botanical Garden

Posted on May 19, 2013 by MartaNovember 2, 2014

Seattle is a riot of color. The Spring weather has been typical, a little rain, a little sun but overall not too cold. But the biggest difference was the mild winter. Everything is in full bloom without any winter damage. The Rhodies are the best that I’ve seen in a couple of years.

We spent Sunday visiting gardens. We had not yet been to Lakewold Gardens this year. Lakewold is our favorite garden estate in the region. We might be a little late for the rhododendrons but we could catch the Chilean Fire Bush in full bloom. The irises were blooming in the neighborhood so we wanted to stop at the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden to hopefully catch the bearded irises in bloom. The King County Iris Society has a nice display bed. And we wanted to return to Bellevue Botanical Garden to see what it looked like a month after our last visit.

I’m going to start with the last garden – Bellevue Botanical Garden. Wow – were we in for a surprise! Our last visit was about a month ago. The garden was filled with early spring flowering trees and bulbs. We had noticed something was changing in the entry bed but we had no idea the extent of the change.

We drove up Main Street and were shocked when we saw the cyclone fence, the backhoes and stacked logs of fallen trees. The entrance and area next to the rock garden is now fully under construction. And so is the parking lot. The signs directed us back to Wilberton Hill Playfield and the back entrance to the Yeo Garden.

We reviewed the information sign in the lot. They are constructing a new Visitor and Educational Center along with redoing the parking. It is scheduled to be completed in 2014. The garden is open and still beautiful so do visit.

But we were still surprised. We were a little sad to see the Davidia tree at the entrance was gone and we suspect the great Stachyurus praecox in the parking lot may also be gone. But what is a garden without change! We look forward to watching the completed garden grow.

Here are some shots of the construction areas.

View from the Alpine Garden

The old entrance area. The Sharp Cabin will be moving

We think the Sharp Cabin will be moving to this area

And now for some flowers – Lots of beautiful color especially alliums and irises

Waterwise Garden

Garden 2013 Update 4

Posted on May 18, 2013 by MartaOctober 11, 2014

Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’

Things are coming along very well in the garden. The main flower garden starts its spring glory right around Mother’s Day on into the first week of June. Everything is right on time this year. I don’t see much from last year in my archives but I found 2011. Everything was late. This post from June 9th 2011 – and our garden is already where it was after the first week in June in 2011. This bods well for tomatoes.

Here are some shots of today’s garden.

In the Veggie garden

The first crop of lettuce is coming along well – as are the peas, chard and kale. The red potatoes are going gang busters and the yukon golds are finally – finally coming along.

We’ll harvest a head or two this week or next.

The tomatoes are still in the greenhouse. We have repotted them a couple of times and they are in gallon pots. They are about a foot high and some have blossoms ready to open. We’ll probably wait another week (Memorial Day) to plant outside.

Chive blossoms

We also started our ‘warm’ vegetables on May 9th. The beans, squash and cucumber have sprouted. Corn – a new entry in our garden – has yet to sprout.

Elsewhere in the garden – I’m waiting for our peonies to open. The side bed and banana are looking great. A few special blooms – the Mecenopsis is in bloom as is the Ixia in the greenhouse. The front porch with the tropics looks great. The Chilean Fire Bush made it through the winter but only has one blossom. Let’s hope it gains some strenght.

Magnolia seiboldii

Ornithogalum nutans

The side bed is leafing out nicely with lots of different colors and textures.

Hosta “Patriot”

Hardy Banana

Embotrium coccineum

Tender tropics such as Protea Safari Sunset and Crinodendron hookerianum

Latest container garden

And two unusual blooms in the greenhouse

Ixia virdiflora from South Africa

Aristolochia semprevirens

Our Echium wildpretii is blooming but did not develop a spike like last year. We don’t think it was broken. We didn’t think it was going to bloom but it just started these short spikes.

But compare it with last year mid-May – It got above the roof!

Bellevue Botanical Garden

Posted on April 28, 2013 by MartaDecember 26, 2014

We have a wonderful botanical garden here in Seattle. It is located in Bellevue and it is managed by the Northwest Perennial Alliance. They have recently (past couple of years) redone the perennial border. I have to admit – I had a lot of concern when I first heard that they were going to redo the beds. I loved the old apple trees and the meandering trail through the lush plantings. But I have to admit – after a couple of years – I am stating to love the new plantings. There are some very interesting plants and some good color swatches. The steps and paths allow for more discovery of unusual plants. We have made two trips this year to watch the progression. Nice job!. Here is what we saw on our most recent visit mid-April. (check this post see the beds before the change in 2007).

Wild Horse Windfarm

Posted on April 27, 2013 by MartaDecember 26, 2014

One of our favorite day trips in the spring is to go to Eastern Washington to view the wildflowers. I was searching on this blog to see my previous posts and I found that I haven’t blogged that often about our spring trips. We almost always make one trip to see the wildflowers. Timing is key. I will follow hiking trip reports from my local NW Hikers forum or the trip reports on Washington Trails Association. The bloom can be anytime from mid-April to mid-May. So much depends upon the temperatures. Some years the bloom can start and then be blasted by high temps. Other years, it is slow and spreads out into mid-May. This year it is a little early.

We like to just ramble over the sage country exploring and seeing what can we can discover. Our favorite area is along the Old Vantage Highway between Ellenburg and Vantage. The area around Whiskey Dick and Quilomene Wildlife area are our favorites for exploring. The reports that I have read said everything was already in bloom so we wanted to do a trip.

This area is extremely windy. Puget Power has build a wind farm- Wild Horse Wind Farm in the past years which has changed the area. But they have done a lot to repopulate the area with the native plants and open the area to visitors. I saw that it was the start of their Wildflower Hike season. Perfect timing. I called and signed up for the hike this weekend.

It takes about 2 and half hours to drive from North of Seattle to the Wild Horse Farm. We started to see Prairie Lupine along the drive. We gathered in the seminar room at the Wild Horse Facility before heading off to an hour and half walk/hike exploring the wildflowers. We decided to go with the advanced botanical group and spent time exploring. It was great to meet other plant enthusiasts.

We went back to the visitors center after our hike and got a permit which allowed us to stop and explore more of the property. We drove north and into the Quilomene Wildlife area. The dirt roads can get pretty rough. The wind started to really blow. We could hardly walk across the fields. I checked the wind speeds and they were around 45mph!

But the blooms were stunning. The perfume of the prairie lupine was intoxicating. The big head clover was at its prime and accented by the golden Hooker’s Balsamroot.

Around 2pm, we headed back to Ellensburg. We stopped at U-Totem Burgers for an early dinner and then over to Iron Horse Brewery for a sampler. It was pretty tasty and we filled our growler with some of their IPA before heading back to the gray.

First a couple of previous posts on Eastern Washington and the Wind Farm:

Washington Desert in Bloom

Technology (Wild Horse Wind Farm)

Wildflowers and Wind Turbines

Visitors Center

Group heading out to search for wildflowers

Prairie Lupine

Yes – Cactus grows in Washington State!

Late April in the Garden

Posted on April 26, 2013 by MartaJuly 15, 2014

Euphorbias along our driveway

Seattle residents fuss over the weather. In the early 90’s, we had rather predictable Spring weather. You knew when to plant and what to expect. But recently, you really have not known what to expect each winter and spring. In the past five years, we have had three rather cool, gray, late springs. This year seems to be back to normal. We have already had one or two days get to 70 degrees. Two years ago, it did not get to 70 until late May. There have been more sunny days. I am starting to not wear sweatshirts everyday. Live is good.

And the garden is doing well. The lettuce is hanging in. We had to buy another pack of lettuce because our old seed did not germinate. I scored a bargain by finding a pack of “Nevada” lettuce for 79 cents. It is what we usual grow since it is slow to bolt. Tomatoes are coming along. The potatoes are interesting. The Yukon Gold which were supposed to be early have yet to show any leaves. We dug around and they are there but just not up yet. Carmine, the late red, is showing some plants but the Satina is going gang busters. It is a mid season yellow.

Lots is also blooming in the garden. The winter was also not as cold so many of the less hardy perennials are starting to leaf. Matilija poppy has run and spread around the bed and the stalks from last year have started to leaf out. Our Basjoo Banana did not need to be cut back to the ground and is starting to leaf out. A few items still are tender such as our Chilean Firebush. It is going to have one bloom. Our Echium wildpretti is also doing something strange.

Here are some pictures of the garden taken at the end of April.

First up – our vegetable garden

Next views in the backyard

The Front Yard

Seattle Chinese Garden

Posted on April 24, 2013 by MartaApril 24, 2013

The second garden we visited was the new Seattle Chinese Garden. It is located right next to the South Seattle Community College Arboretum. Here is an explanation of a what composes a Chinese Garden from their self-guided tour brochure:

A Chinese Garden harmonizes nature (plants, trees, water, rocks) with culture (architecture and the arts) in a beautiful setting to be enjoyed in every season.

It opened in November 2010. The garden designers were from Seattle’s sister city of Chongqing and the garden is Sichuan-style. There are two other major Chinese gardens in the Pacific Northwest. The wonderful Dr. SunYat-Sen Classic Chinese Garden in Vancouver BC and serene Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland. I love visiting the garden in Portland. It is located on a full city block surrounded by a wall. As you walk through the first moon gate, you are taken to a tranquil paradise where you can forget the city and contemplate peace.

The Seattle Chinese Garden is much more ambitious. It is located on 5 acres and at this point only two buildings have been completed. The main building has a lovely ‘Knowing the Spring’ courtyard but yet it is very stark. It was built as a gathering place and has space for functions and it is composed of the four main elements.

A second pavillion is located a short distance away. It has many more plants along with a pond and stream. There is so much work to be done. I look forward to seeing how the garden progresses over the years.

The Entrance

Knowing the Spring Courtyard

Stones to signify a mountain

Encircling corridor

Magnolia near the Pine and Plum Pavilion

The Pine and Plum Pavilion

The Main Gate

Aboretum at South Seattle Community College

Posted on April 20, 2013 by MartaApril 20, 2013

Cool and damp weekend. We wanted to visit a couple of gardens. We discussed maybe the Rhododendron Species Foundation but decided we didn’t want to go that far. We were going to go to the another garden when I remembered that we had wanted to visit the Arboretum at South Seattle Community College.

It was new to us even though it started in 1978. Recently, the Seattle Chinese Garden opened next to it which gave us another reason to visit. It is located on Delridge area south of West Seattle Bridge. Five acres of about a dozen different growing areas. The best by far is the Coenosium Rock Garden which contains a world class collection of drawf conifers.

We were a little disappointed in the current condition of the garden. Many of the beds were overgrown with both plantings and weeds – most common the horsetail. The Coenosium garden is in good condition but most of the others needs some work.

After our visit, we walked over to the Chinese Garden which I will post about later.

Coenosium Rock Garden

Pinus contorta ‘Chief Joseph’