The Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park: September 2015

Thursday, September 24, 2015

New Plants in Fall 2015

These new plants were added to the Winter Garden & Native Garden in September 2015. Some dead plants were replaced with more of the same.

Winter Garden
Aucuba japonica 'Rozannie' (Gold Dust Plant): added in September 2015

Winter Garden Perennial Border

Alchemilla mollis 'Auslese' (Lady's Mantle): added in September 2015
Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian Bellflower): added in September 2015

Echinacea purpurea 'Ruby Star' (Pink Coneflower): added in September 2015
Geranium 'Ann Folkard' (Cranesbill): added in September 2015
Lamium maculatum ‘Aureum’ (Golden Dead Nettle): added in September 2015

Sedum makinoi ‘Limelight’ (Stonecrop): added in September 2015
Sedum reflexum ‘Blue Spruce’ (Stonecrop): added in September 2015
Thymus pseudolanuginosus (Woolly Thyme): added in September 2015

Native Garden

Achillea millefolium 'Little Susie' (Yarrow): added in September 2015

Erigeron peregrinus (Subalpine Fleabane): added in September 2015
Erigeron speciosus (Show Fleabane): added in September 2015
Sedum laxum (Roseflower Stonecrop):: added in September 2015

Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry) added in September 2015

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.