The Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park: June 2014

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden Plant List

The Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden lies on both sides of the southeast entrance to the park, across from the Dry Garden, south of the Native Garden & east of the Shade Garden.

Plant List

Trees

Acer campestre (Hedge Maple)

Betula jacquemontii (Himalayan Birch)

Distylium racemosum (Isu Tree)

Prunus serrulata 'Mt Fuji' (Flowering Cherry)

Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk' (Japanese Tree Lilac)

Shrubs

Abelia 'Edward Goucher'

Abelia x grandiflora 'Francis Mason' (Glossy Abelia)

Abelia x grandiflora 'Confetti' (Glossy Abelia)

Abelia x grandiflora 'Sunrise' (Glossy Abelia)

Buddleia davidii 'Black Knight' (Butterfly Bush)

Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'

Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Worcester Gold' (Blue Mist Shrub)

Hebe buxifolia (Boxwood Hebe)

Phygelius x rectus 'African Queen' (Cape Fuchsia)
Physocarpus opulifolius 'Summer Wine' (Eastern Ninebark)

Potentilla fruticosa 'Mount Everest' (Shrubby Cinquefoil)

Rosa rugosa 'Double Blanc de Coubert' (Rugosa Rose)

Spiraea bumalda 'Limemound' (Japanese Meadowsweet)

Syringa meyeri 'Palibin' (Korean Lilac)

Weigela florida 'Minuet'

Perennials

Achillea millefolium 'Terracotta' (Common Yarrow)

Aster x frikartii 'Flora's Delight'

Crambe maritima (Sea Kale)

Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove)

Dorycnium hirsutum (Hairy Canary Clover)

Helleborus argutifolius (Corsican Hellebore)

Heuchera americana 'Plum Pudding' (American Alumroot)

Luzula nivea (Snowy Woodrush)

Papaver orientale (Oriental Poppy)

Sedum 'Frosty Morn'

Vine

Lonicera japonica 'Halliana' (Japanese Honeysuckle)

Abelia grandiflora 'Francis Mason' in May 2013

Acer campestre in May 2013

Betula jacquemontii in May 2013

Betula jacquemontii in May 2014

Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Worcester Gold' in June 2013

Crocosmia masoniorum in July 2013

Digitalis purpurea in May 2013

Dorycnium hirsutum in May 2013

Hebe buxifolia in May 2014

Helleborus argutifolius in May 2014

Heuchera americana 'Plum Pudding' in May 2014

Papaver orientale in May 2013

Phygelius x rectus 'African Queen' in June 2013

Potentilla fruticosa 'Mount Everest' (Shrubby Cinquefoil)

Rosa 'Blanc Double de Coubert' in May 2013

Unidentified Rose in May 2014

Spiraea x bumalda 'Limemound' in May 2014

Syringa meyeri 'Palibin' in May 2014

Weigela florida 'Minuet' in May 2014

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.