The Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park: August 2013

Monday, August 19, 2013

Meeting with Heidi Narte

Dale Herter, Jordan Jackson & Joyce Moty met with Heidi Narte, Senior Gardener with the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation, in the ornamental border, on the morning of 8-19-13. Ms. Narte reviewed & generally approved the improvement plans for the native & winter gardens. She approved the removal of the Prunus serrulata 'Mt Fuji' in the butterfly & hummingbird garden, because it was inappropriately sited. She was willing to consider the removal of the Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' in the winter garden & one of the Mahonia x media 'Arthur Menzies' in the native garden. She noted the the Acer campestre in the butterfly & hummingbird garden would eventually need to be removed, because the tree would grow large enough to interfere with the power lines above it.

The improvement plans for the the native & winter gardens had been unanimously approved at the Bradner leads meeting on 8-12-13.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Winter Garden Improvement Project

The winter garden was improved in fall 2014. Five cubic yards of Cedar Grove Compost was spread & the following plants were added. Click here for the current winter garden plant list.

Shrubs
Aucuba japonica ‘Picturata’ (Japanese Laurel, Aoki, Gold Dust Plant)
Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rainbow’ (Fetter Bush, Dog Hobble)
Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Scarletta’ (Fetter Bush, Dog Hobble)
Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis (Dwarf Sweet Box)
Sarcococca ruscifolia (Sweet Box)
Skimmia japonica (Japanese Skimmia, Miyama Shikimi)

Groundcovers
Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’ (Carpet Bugle)
Fragaria vesca (Woodland Strawberry)

List of possible future additions:

Shrubs
Berberis darwinii 'Compacta' (Campact Darwin's Barberry)
Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’ (Dwarf Hinoki Cypress)
Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel)
Rhaphiolepis umbellata (Yeddo Hawthorne)
Ribes sanguineum (Flowering Currant)
Viburnum davidii (David's Viburnum)

Perennials & Groundcovers
Acanthus mollis (Bear’s Breeches): move from dry garden
Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s Mantle)
Anemone x hybrida (Japanese Anemone)
Campanula latifolia (Giant Bellflower)
Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian Bellflower)
Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove): scatter seeds
Franchoa ramosa or Franchoa sonchifolia (Bridal Wreath)
Geranium phaeum (Mourning Widow)
Liriope muscari (Lily Turf)
Luzula sylvatica ‘Aurea’ (Golden Wood Rush)
Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' (Daffodil)

These perennials were planted in fall 2014 along the west edge of the border.

Perennial Border
Echinacea purpurea ‘PowWow’ (White Coneflower)
Lilium auratum (Gold Band Lily)
Penstemon x mexicali (Mexicali Beardtongue)
Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Rain’ (Lilac Sage)

Scilla peruviana (Giant Squill)

Here is a list of possible future additions:
Achillea millefolium (Yarrow)

Allium cristophii (Star of Persia)
Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove)
Eryngium amethystinum (Sea Holly)
Geranium sanguineum (Bloody Cranesbill)
Lychnis coronaria (Crown Pink)
Paeonia ‘Flame’ (Peony)
Thymus serpyllum (Creeping Thyme)

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.