West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
If you’re boiling eggs to decorate for Easter, and expecting to throw them away or put them in your food-waste recycling cart – here’s an alternative: Paul West of Gardening with Urban Nitrogen wants to collect them! He says he’s doing this “as a pilot project to develop local fertilizer alternatives to replace the exotic organic fertilizers that are typically used in urban gardens” and if you will donate to his experiment, he’ll arrange to pick up your Easter eggs from your front porch (West Seattle only) the morning of April 9th, provided they’re set out by 8 am. Then he’ll grind them into garden fertilizer and report to Sustainable West Seattle by the end of the growing season. The point he’s trying to draw attention to:
Urban food wastes such as eggs, milk, beans, and other high protein, low-fat foods are great sources of nitrogen. These typically end up at the Cedar Grove Composting facility where they get mixed with low-fertility wastes. Meanwhile, urban gardeners buy organic fertilizers (blood meal, fish emulsion, sea kelp, rock phosphate) from far-away places to grow their vegetables. This project fosters food security and local resource development.
West says he needs more than 1,000 eggs to make this work. To arrange to contribute, e-mail him at peedublyou@gmail.com.
Just four months till this year’s West Seattle Garden Tour on July 15th – and the poster-contest winner has been announced!
WSGT is pleased to announce the winning artist in our First Annual Poster Artwork Contest: Sheila Lengle of LengleArt with her entry “Ode to Picasso.” Sheila’s winning piece [above], along with over a dozen runner-up entries, will be on display at Windermere Realty in The Junction during the May 10, 2012 West Seattle Art Walk.
This year’s tour is Sunday, July 15, and showcases 9 fabulous local gardens. Our featured lecturer this year is West Seattle gardener and author Lorene Edwards Fornker, who was also a gardener on last year’s tour. Proceeds from the tour support our 2012 beneficiaries: The Bloedel Reserve, Neighborhood House YELS, Highline Botanical Garden, Kubota Garden, Barton Street Community Garden, Community Orchard of West Seattle, Seattle Chinese Garden and ArtsWest Theatre.
Sponsorship accounts for more than 50% of tour revenue and we are currently in the last few weeks of our sponsorship drive. We would like to encourage local businesses and individuals interested in sponsoring the WSGT and supporting our 2012 beneficiaries to become a 2012 sponsor. The sponsorship commitment deadline is April 1.
Photos and descriptions of this year’s gardens along with sponsorship information, lecture topic and beneficiary information are currently posted on our website westseattlegardentour.com.
Sheila’s artist statement for the contest included this: “I’ve been an artist since the first time I put crayon to paper, and have been lucky enough to have been in and out of a variety of creative businesses during my 64 years. At this state of my life I want to work hard, paint a lot and market my work so I can be an artist who makes a living. … I’m self-taught thus no rule guides me. I feel so free to create. I’ll paint whatever, whenever and with anything I want…rather like a spoiled child. I think that’s a passion. I’m thrilled to feel this way and want to for the rest of my life.”
P.S. As for the tour itself, ticket books will be $15 per person (children 12 and under are free), available in June, while ticket vouchers will be available online from brownpapertickets.com, starting next month.
The Community Orchard of West Seattle continues to grow – in more ways than one – on the northeast side of the South Seattle Community College campus (6000 16th SW). And SSCC’s horticulture zone is where you’ll find the COWS seed sale till 3 pm today – with more than seeds:
Strawberry and chive plants were on sale too, just $1 each. Look for the canopy and the signs leading you into one of the Landscaping/Horticulture buildings, where you’ll find the sale, just north of the north parking lot. For a closer look at the orchard site itself, they’re offering Health and Harvest Tours every Tuesday afternoon, 2-4 pm.
We were greeted by a Lincoln Park P-Patch volunteer who sighed, “I’m afraid we picked the wrong weekend.” But suddenly – the snow has stopped, and the sky is brightening. Go celebrate daffodils, admire the P-Patch, drop off a food donation, just uphill from the Lincoln Park tennis courts (the ones right on Fauntleroy Way SW across from the gas station, and next to the newly accessorized RapidRide stop). Till 1 pm.
Before the Barton Pump Station expansion project takes over little Cove Park on the beach north of the Fauntleroy ferry dock (map) for about two years, the park’s plants need new homes – and you are invited to be part of the “adoption” effort. As Mardi Clements summarizes it, “”Free plants! Take them to a good home before they are bulldozed!” The plants fill border gardens along the pathway down to Cove Park’s tiny slice of beach. You dig ’em, you take ’em, 9 am-noon tomorrow (Saturday). Once the pump-station project is over, the park will be restored – the Fauntleroy Community Association has been working with the county for a long time to make sure that happens – with new art among other features (as reported in this story last September).
Before month’s end, you’ll have a chance to get the latest on two projects in Highland Park. The first one is ready for you to dig into:
WESTCREST PARK P-PATCH: From Brian Greer:
West Seattle residents have an exciting opportunity right now to be a part of the creation of a P-Patch community garden at Westcrest Park. Recently, funds from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy have been awarded for this project, and the timeline to get it in the ground is relatively short. We need you to come out and voice your values for the garden.
Anybody who has ever experienced the joys of a community garden or has a desire to be apart of this great community feature should come to the orientation and design criteria meeting that will take place this Tuesday the 21st. You don’t need any experience gardening or community organizing, just an interest in being involved.
When: Tuesday, Feb 21st, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm
Where: Highland Park Improvement Club, 1116 SW Holden St.
If you have questions about this meeting or want to help with the organization of this event please e-mail briancgreer@gmail.com.
SPRAY PARK: The third and final meeting about the project to convert Highland Park’s wading pool into a spray park (also including levy $) is once again combined with the monthly Highland Park Action Committee meeting – 7 pm Wednesday, February 29th. This time, Parks will present the final design, and discuss the construction timeline (at last report, the spray park is scheduled to be open for summer 2013). This meeting is also at HPIC (12th and Holden).
2 unique West Seattle gardens are having special events on Saturday:
(Photo courtesy Terri Lindow)
BARTON STREET P-PATCH – “BEE” THERE! The new P-Patch in Westwood is taking shape in a big way – and tomorrow the gardeners are inviting you over, not for a work party, but for a chance to learn! A Master Gardener is coming to the P-Patch at 34th/Barton 2-4 pm Saturday “to educate people about mason bees,” says Terri Lindow, adding: “This is a great opportunity to learn about pollinating bees and to see the P-Patch. Our crushed gravel pathways are in and the construction is entering the last phase. We’d love to show it off!” Bring your own seating – all they’ll have is a few “pop-up shelters.”
SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN: 1-4 pm Saturday, the Seattle Chinese Garden on the north end of the South Seattle Community College campus is presenting a talk about “The Cultures and Landscapes of Western Sichuan,” 1-4 pm. Julia Freimund says, “Two UW professors will be talking about the ethnic groups, the landscapes (so lots of photos!), and the earthquake recovery efforts in Sichuan province.” Here’s a flyer with details, including admission info.
The West Seattle Garden Tour is putting out one last call to local artists – deadline for their contest for the art on this year’s Garden Tour poster is just four weeks away, March 3rd. What they’re looking for: “Artwork content should be an interpretation of the WSGT’s theme ‘The Art of Gardening‘ focusing on color, design and texture in the garden.” The rest of the guidelines, the rules, and the entry form are all on the WSGT website; the winner gets $500, and the top 10 entries will be shown during the May edition of the West Seattle Art Walk. (Speaking of which, this month’s edition is coming up Thursday!) The Garden Tour itself happens this year on July 15th, and WSB is proud to be among the co-sponsors again this year. (Photo from July 2011 WSGT, by Tina Doherty)
From Terri at Barton St. P-Patch in Westwood (34th/Barton) – news of an event starting at 10 am on Saturday:
We grew several pumpkins in our south border to keep our spirits up during the dusty construction phase of the garden. One pumpkin is approaching 200 lbs and we will be raffling it off at 3 pm. We encourage folks to stop by and see it (photos encouraged). Free delivery within West Seattle to the lucky raffle winner.
We will be carving pumpkins for donations and/or cleaning them to the “carve-ready” state. Many thanks to Tony’s Produce, who provided us a coupon for ten cents off per lb on pumpkins (coupon good Saturday only)
Here’s the flyer, which includes the coupon, and more information.
ORIGINAL 12:37 PM REPORT: Get ’em before they’re gone! The Lincoln Park P-Patch gardeners harvested pumpkins last weekend and discovered they had enough for a sale – so they’re selling them, with proceeds benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank, till 2 pm or till they’re gone (as previewed in our “West Seattle Saturday” lookahead). That’s Joel in our photo; you can buy cider and bake-sale treats too. The sale is best accessed from the street just south of the Lincoln Park Annex tennis courts at Fauntleroy Way/Lincoln Park Way, and P-Patch (which is downslope from Solstice Park).
ADDED 8:37 PM: Michelle from the P-Patch sent a photo and update after the sale:
Lincoln Park P-Patch wants to thank the community for their support and generosity of our Pumpkin Festival today. Thanks for making this a true community event!
We sold most of our pumpkin inventory, quite a few baked goods, and and hot cider. With your help, we raised over $200 to purchase seeds, plant starts, and supplies to support the dedicated Food Bank garden plots here at Lincoln Park P-patch! Most of all, we enjoyed meeting and chatting with many of the neighbors and visitors that stopped by just to say hello.
Special thanks to West Seattle Blog for their support and help in getting the word out.
(Photo courtesy Barton Street P-Patch)
The “web” continues to take shape at West Seattle’s newest P-Patch (Barton/34th), but unlike spider webs, this is no solo effort – it takes a community of gardeners and helpers, and Terri Lindow sends word they’re looking for more assistance, even in simple ways:
The Barton Street PPatch is seeking more community to help build our community
garden! If you are interested in learning to build mortar and reclaimed chain link walls (a family-friendly “mud pie” activity), want to swing a sledgehammer, spend some quality time with a wheelbarrow and some wood chips, or would like to provide snacks for our workers, you are invited to stop by. Over the next 6 weeks we’ll be holding work parties Saturdays 9:30-3 pm and Sundays 11-3 pm. All are welcome!
For more about the Barton Street P-Patch’s progress, check out their Facebook group. There’s also info on the city Department of Neighborhoods website, where Barton is P-Patch #85.
Things have been fairly quiet lately (and WSBeat fans should know, Megan Sheppard‘s weekly feature returns next week). Today, just out of the WSB inbox, from Mike B, a report:
We live on Fauntleroy Way near the Fairmount Playfield. I have a garden of mostly zinnias, gladiolas, and marigolds. Last night (Friday) at about 8:30pm my wife alerted me that there was someone in our yard picking my flowers. When confronted the young men said, “Sorry, they’re for my dead bro, man. Call the Cops.” They quickly walked away heading south. I did call and the police responded quickly. They did not find the young men. They were young white guys in their late teens or early twenties. One had a knit hat on. Both were dressed in baggy dark clothing. I know they were only flowers, but I put a lot of time into my garden and they were important to me.
Reminder, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council resumes its meetings a week from Tuesday – at 7 pm September 20th, Southwest Precinct. Special guest this month – discussing identity theft.
(Photo courtesy Genesee Hill School Garden)
On this back-to-school week, neighbors of a closed West Seattle school are getting ready for the second-to-last garden-cleanup day of the year – and inviting you to join in. The Genesee Hill School Garden volunteers and Genesee Schmitz Neighborhood Council have been working hard along the northwest section of the shuttered school’s grounds. By late August, toward the end of their first growing season, the garden was alive with plants including sunflowers, corn, and tomatoes – and the Genesee Hill gardeners donated close to 100 pounds of produce to the food bank in August alone! As reported here previously, their project got off the ground – and into the ground! – with the help of a city Neighborhood Matching Fund grant, but volunteer labor makes all the difference, and they’re hoping for help this Saturday (September 10th) and two weeks later (September 24th). Both of those days, they’re asking for volunteers to meet them at the front of the school along SW Genesee (map) at 9 am – the tasks will include tending and weeding the beds, and taking steps to discourage invasives.
(WSB photo from West Seattle Garden Tour 2011)
The drippy doldrums of June and July seem a distant memory now – but even the 2011 West Seattle Garden Tour fell on a rainy day. Its popularity, however, was waterproof. 800 people toured this year’s ten showcased gardens, according to WSGT’s Jane Watson, and the total take from ticket sales, sponsorships (with co-sponsors including WSB), and miscellaneous day-of-tour sales was up almost 10 percent over a year earlier. That meant a commensurate increase in the proceeds awarded to the beneficiaries, almost $24,000.
To celebrate that success and generosity, WSGT organizers and supporters gathered last night at the Duwamish Longhouse to officially make those awards to the beneficiaries – eight local nonprofits (including a garden project at the Longhouse itself – note Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen on the left side of the ceremonial check):
Representatives of each project/organization got a moment during the actual ceremony to explain their work – we got it all on video:
As a volunteer-powered nonprofit, the Garden Tour needs lots of helping hands – so if you’re ready to dig in, you can find the contact information here.
At West Seattle Nursery, the Dog Days of Summer started with Furry Faces Foundation‘s Teri Ensley and King County’s Rebecca Cleveland-Diel tapping a donated keg of Manny’s. Till 4 pm, it’s a beerfest, with hot dogs, but it’s also a pet-adoption-fest:
That’s volunteer Kory with two dogs hoping their new forever homes might be found today – the little white one he’s holding is a “special needs” pet, with eye trouble. Or if you’re looking to add a kitty to the family, here’s one in classic nonchalant cat mode:
West Seattle Nursery is having a sale, too. Meantime, your dog (leashed) and/or cat (carrier) are welcome to join you at Lien Animal Clinic till 2 pm, for the 60th anniversary open house – we found a few visitors there this morning:
And of course, there’s anniversary cake!
Lien is on SW Alaska between 37th and 38th, in The Triangle.
Two notes this noontime. First, police have investigated reports of possible gunfire heard NEAR South Seattle Community College, leading to what one WSB’er said via Facebook was a precautionary campus alert message. We checked with Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith, and he says that officers did NOT find any evidence of actual gunfire. “Shots fired” reports are common enough – and often turn out to be fireworks – that we don’t usually write about them unless we get multiple inquiries; this time we did. So again, NO evidence of gunfire found. … Second, vandals hit the West Genesee P-Patch again:
A dog-walker who went by this morning spotted plants torn out and tossed in the street, and called us (206-293-6302 any time). We contacted Tiffany, who had reported the damage done 4 weeks ago, and West Seattle Christian Church, whose property the P-Patch is on – they called police. Tiffany checked out the damage and says it’s not as bad as last time: “Mostly just supportive stakes pulled up, but not much damage to the plants, thankfully. They pulled up a few plants from the border garden this time as well. Most of the damage was in the top four plots, however. That’s where they ripped up plants, stakes, stomped on things, and smashed plants. They also tossed one of the picnic benches on the roof of our garden shed and one in a plot, smashing her tomatoes. Although we aren’t allowed to lock the area up, we’re going to have a
meeting to discuss what we can do to help prevent future incidents.” Security cameras might not be out of the question. She says the food-bank plot was spared, and the only community help they’d like right now is to continue keeping an eye out: “I, for one, am frustrated and don’t see the point in spending time, effort, and money on this if it’s just going to be repeatedly destroyed, so I hope this stops!”
(Photo courtesy Seattle Chinese Garden)
Hundreds of polished green granite bricks will soon adorn that wall at the Seattle Chinese Garden on the north side of the South Seattle Community College campus atop Puget Ridge. Yours can be one of them, if you order it by August 25 (provided the remaining allotment doesn’t run out sooner). The bricks will decorate the Friendship Wall, with its first side to be dedicated on October 15th. Even the garden’s own neighbors have secured a spot; the garden says Puget Ridge resident Judy Cashman got 40 families to join in on a specially inscribed brick. A news release from the Chinese Garden quotes her as saying that “… my neighbors describe it as a refuge and a jewel they enjoy visiting, so of course they wanted to support it.” You can find the order form (and see a sample brick) by going here, or call the garden office at 206-934-5219.
Barton Street P-Patch volunteers are on duty on two sides of SW Barton south of 35th SW (map) right now – Top photo, the group we found at the fundraising bake sale outside the Tony’s Market produce stand, where they’re selling treats till 2 pm (including vegan baked goods, a P-Patcher assured a commenter on the WSB Facebook page). Below, another Saturday work party at the P-Patch site on the south side of the street – 2 1/2 months after groundbreaking, still lots of hard work to get the site ready for planting this fall:
Volunteers are having work parties every Saturday and Sunday TFN, and welcome more help. Best way to connect with what they’re up to is to join their Facebook group – go here.
Following up on our preview this week of the “Sustainable Rain” raingarden-building project on the south side of 5902 California SW (map) – the work party is on till 2 pm, and you’re still welcome to drop by. This is part of a regional Sustainable Seattle-organized project. Rain gardens are designed to soak up extra rainwater so it won’t have to go into storm drains and ultimately into bodies of water (picking up surface pollutants along the way) like Puget Sound or the Duwamish River.
In the two and a half weeks since we first told you about Village Green Perennial Nursery owner 
Vera Johnson‘s fight against potential foreclosure, she’s gathered thousands of electronic petition signatures, and rallied dozens of people in similar straits, so they can all learn about – and exercise – their legal rights. If you are facing default or foreclosure, the next support-group meeting is at 5 pm Sunday at Community School of West Seattle (9450 22nd SW). Vera says lawyer Edgar Hall will be in attendance to answer questions and offer “resources for pro-bono services,” among other things, and she invites attendees to “bring laptops, so we can look up our info and search for fraudulent docs – wi-fi available.” Then on Tuesday, she has an appointment with Bank of America; next Friday (one week from today), she’s planning to deliver to BofA the signatures from her petition on Change.org (not too late to sign – go here), which now total more than 8,300. A benefit is also in the works; you can follow the progress by “liking” this Facebook page.
(Photo courtesy Sustainable Seattle)
Back in February, the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council got first word (WSB coverage here) of the then-forthcoming “Sustainable Rain” project, which a Sustainable Seattle rep told council members would include rain-garden work in West Seattle. They didn’t have details then – but they do now, and a rain garden like the one pictured above (which is in Puyallup) is in the works for a spot along California SW, north of Morgan Junction. You’re invited to help:
*COME DIG A RAIN GARDEN IN WEST SEATTLE!*
*Saturday, July 30 *10 am – 2 pm*
*5902 SW California Avenue*
Join Sustainable Seattle and Alleycat Acres in digging the first rain garden in the Russell Foundation-funded Sustainable Rain project! Come help create this garden at a business/residence, protect Puget Sound, and support sustainable businesses. Come for as long as you can, meet great folks, and learn about rain gardens. Bring shovel (if you have), gloves, and water to drink. Bring kids if you can supervise them.
Not familiar with rain gardens? They’re explained here. This is the first of several sites around the region that are slated to be part of the Sustainable Rain project.
1:22 PM: At least, that’s how we’re looking at it, as the West Seattle Garden Tour continues till 5 pm. We just dropped in on the “Whirligig Garden” tour stop near Schmitz Park, lots of visitors, some with umbrellas, more without. What’s perfect about this particular stop, on this particular (rainy) day, is that it’s a garden making good use of rainwater:
At the back of the shot is a 1,000-plus-gallon cistern that holds rainwater for reuse in the garden, which has many beautiful touches – note this perfect squash blossom, encircled by creative stepping-stones:
This is just one of ten stops. They’re all in the ticket book (check West Seattle Nursery and TrueValue to see if they have any left), which you show to the volunteers manning an information table outside each stop (under an umbrella, which MOST years is needed for sun – we’ve heard this is the first rainy July 17th in 34 years!). We’re proud to be a co-sponsor again this year; WSGT proceeds benefit eight local nonprofits.
ADDED 5:17 PM: Brad Lovejoy shared four photos from along the tour:
The other three, after the jump (and if you have a Garden Tour photo to share, we’d be honored to add it – editor@wsb.blackfin.biz – 9:58 PM, added more – MON. AFTERNOON, added even more, thanks for sharing!):Read More
With a nod to the original WSB story, Seattle Times columnist Nicole Brodeur tells the tale of Village Green Perennial Nursery owner Vera Johnson‘s bank battle to fight off foreclosure. (Note that when Brodeur contacted Bank of America, she got the same kind of conflicting answers Vera reported.) Our story from Tuesday is here; you can sign Vera’s online petition here.
| 11 COMMENTS