The Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park: Native Garden Improvement Project

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Native Garden Improvement Project

The Native Garden was improved in fall 2014. 5 cubic yards of Cedar Grove compost was spread throughout, non-native plants were removed & many new native plants were added.

Click here to see the current Native Garden Plant List.

Here is list of native plants for future additions & replacements.
Shrubs

Mahonia repens (Creeping Mahonia): part shade

Physocarpus capitatus (Western Ninebark): sun

Ribes sanguineum ‘White Icicle’ (Flowering Currant): sun or shade

Thuja plicata ‘Grune Kugel’ (Dwarf Western Red Cedar): sun or shade

Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry): sun or shade

Perennials

Achillea millefolium (Common Yarrow): sun

Camassia quamash (Camas): sun

Dicentra formosa (Pacific Bleeding Heart): shade

Eriophyllum lanatum (Oregon Sunshine): sun

Grindelia integrifolia (Gumweed): sun

Helenium autumnale (Mountain Sneezeweed): sun

Iris douglasiana (Douglas Iris)

Iris, Pacific Coast Native Hybrids

Penstemon serrulatus (Coast Beardtongue): sun

Polystichum munitum (Western Sword Fern): shade

Sisyrinchium californicum (Yellow-eyed Grass): sun

Tellima grandiflora (Fringe Cup): shade

Groundcovers

Erigeron glaucus (Beach Aster): sun

Mahonia nervosa (Longleaf Mahonia): sun or shade

Maianthemum dilatatum (False Lily of the Valley): shade
Oxalis oregana (Redwood Sorrel): shade

Sedum oreganum: sun
Sedum oregonense (Stonecrop): sun

Sedum divergens: sun

Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape Blanco’: sun

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Ornamental Border History

Planting of the ornamental border began in 1998. Before the first planting, native soil was amended with Cedar Grove compost and Smith Dairy manure.

King County Master Gardeners designed 7 theme gardens. Each garden was scaled to fit into smaller urban residential yards & featured a selection of trees, shrubs & perennials to demonstrate the right plant for the right place, low maintenance & a variety of irrigation systems. The gardens provided living examples for Master Gardener lectures, demonstrations & workshops.

From north to south, then west, the 7 gardens are the Winter Garden, Sensory Garden, Native Garden, Dry Garden, Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden, Shade Garden & Fragrance Garden.

Over time, the irrigation system was converted entirely to drip because it worked the best on the sloping beds. It was decided to use no irrigation starting in 2012.

King County Master Gardeners left Bradner Gardens in 2008. Presentations & demonstration mostly ceased after that point. But in more recent years, the border had only been used for workshops on drip irrigation. Plant Amnesty conducted a pruning class in 2012, when several overgrown trees & shrubs were pruned. General maintenance was transferred to volunteers from the Bradner Gardens P-Patch.

Bradner Gardens has the first arboretum of small trees that fit along streets under utility lines & in smaller urban yards. The collection features both deciduous & evergreen trees. Many were anticipated to grow to a mature height of 20 to 30 feet.

Planted as part of the Seattle Millennium/Woods Legacy celebration in 2000, these trees are located throughout the park, including the ornamental border. Tree Stewards worked with Seattle City Light & the City Arborist to select more than 40 appropriate trees for display.

For the original installation, lists were submitted to King County Master Gardener clinics to get donations from gardeners. Plants were also donated by the Washington Park Arboretum Foundation from the Pat Calvert Nursery & from Seattle Parks and Recreation. Most of the trees were obtained through the Seattle Millennium Tree Project and Seattle City Light. Some plants were also purchased with grant money.