The Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park: March 2014

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Winter 2014

Acer buergerianum (Trident Maple) & Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple).

Sheet mulch.

Sambucus caerulea (Blue Elderberry).

Chionodoxa luciliae (Glory of the Snow)

Drimys lanceolata

Euphorbia characias & Helleborus argutifolius (Corsican Hellebore).

Helleborus x hybridus.

Magnolia stellata 'Rose King'. All photos were taken on 3-18-14, 2 days before the 1st day of spring.

During the fall/winter of 2013/14 some general pruning was done in the Ornamental Border. Most notable was the transformation of the Sambucus caerulea (Blue Elderberry) in the Native Garden. The 2 lowest limbs of the Acer buergerianum (Trident Maple) in the Winter Garden were removed, which made room to plant shrubs between it & the Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple) & also gave the latter more room to expand. There was a work part in early March 2014, during which the weedy area north of the Shade Garden was sheet mulched & a think layer of compost was spread on the Native Garden.

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.