The Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park: April 2014

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Meeting of the Border Leads

On 4-21-14 the Border Leads (Dale Herter, Kate Faulkner, Jordan Jackson & Joyce Moty) met in the border to review plans for the improvement of the Native Garden. It was agreed that most of the existing plan for the Native Garden Improvement Project, proposed in July 2013 & approved by the Bradner Leads in August 2013, would begin to be implemented in the fall of 2014. We decided to change the plan to keep both Mahonia 'Arthur Menzies' & prune them. We agreed that all other non-native plants would be removed from the Native Garden & moved to new sites if possible. We considered adding new planting to the street side of the Native Garden consisting of Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum) & Creeping Mahonia (Mahonia repens) both medium-sized shrubs. Jordan suggested adding Pacific Coast Native Iris (Iris douglasiana & hybrids) & Beach Aster (Erigeron glaucus) to the plant list for the dry & sunny strip along the path. Joyce offered Camas (Camassia sp.) & False Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum dilatatum) from her garden for the project. Jordan offered Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) & White Flowering Currant (Ribes Sanguineum 'White Icicle').

We agreed that compost for the new planting the Winter Garden should be added as soon as possible to allow it to settle & break down to become less acidic, before planting in the fall. Jordan offered to draw new plans for both gardens shortly before planting begins. Different approaches to irrigation were discussed without agreement. There was general agreement that a list of rules should be made to guide improvements to the Ornamental Border, such as using drought-tolerant plants, researching the size & shape of shrubs before planting & planting large shrubs well away from the path.

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.