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03-02-2004, 08:44 PM

In article , wrote:

Hi Paghat,
I'm planning to come out to the Seattle area and was wondering what time was
better for seeing lot's in bloom, etc. April or May or neither. and what are
some of the best places to go, such as the Bloedel reserve, etc.
Thanks!!!
Jim

Either month is great for rhododendrons, late in April or in May. Drive
around Queen Ann Hill looking for flowering shrubs in "ordinary" folks'
gardens, & end up at Parson's Garden on Queen Ann. For a cheep lunch
there's a better-than-average pizza joint atop the hill; for a great
dinner I prefer Buddha Garden at foot of the hill alongside the Seattle
Center, but it's all vegetarian, so good even meat eaters would love it,
but if you must have meat, the Thai restaurant immediately next door to
the Buddha Garden is one of the two best Thai places in Seattle though the
building is unassuming & it's surprisingly cheap.

Visit most especially the University's Arboretum specifically to take the
one-mile walk along Azalea Way which will be at its peak of floweriness.
The Arboretum could be a whole day in itself because huge Azalea Way is
only a small part of it. The thing to do is to park at the Natural History
Museum, walk along the swamp path which takes you along the edge of Lake
Washington to the far end of a little island exclusively of native plants,
cross the island to the bridge (bring stale bread or left over theater
popcorn if you like to stand in goose slime feeding ducks & geese, as
you'll be passing an area dense with beggar fowl), then head off to Azalea
Way. At the far end of Azalea Way you'll be able to find your way to the
Japanese Garden, which is a great one, then walk back by the higher path
which takes you through shady areas with a truly great collection of
Japanese maples.

If you're not pooped & too worn out & it's not too late by the time you're
done exploring the Arboretum, there's a little park not too far off in the
Mount Baker neighborhood most easily reached by starting south out of the
Arboretum along 23rd which'll eventually end up in Mount Baker. It's
called Bradner Gardens & Park. It's kind of funky in the best way,
decorated with children's art & folk art amidst beautiful shrubs &
flowers. It's not big, it's a real neighborhood park & I used to live
fairly close, so I really love it, & I'd rather picnik there than at the
Arboretum among so as to be among real Seattleites rather than just the
flower tourists. If someone knows their way around to help you not get
lost, it's only maybe two miles out of the way to drive down into
International District first & go into Uwajimaya (they have easy parking)
& buy a couple lunchboxes of sushi or of noodles or whatever, to take to
Bradner for a super-fancy picnik.

South Seattle has an even better Japanese garden than the great one at the
Arboretum. It's called Kuboto Garden (War Helmet Garden, quite a name, but
it's also the Japanese name for monkshoods). It has an incredible
collection of Japanese species & cultivars, mixed with Northwest native
shrubs. Sometimes crowded, a weekday is best. If you got too tired after
Arboretum day to get to Bradner's, then go to Kuboto the next day, then to
Uwajimaya for the lunchboxes, then to Bradner's to picnik.

If you do cross Puget Sound to visit the Bloedel Reserve (you have to call
a few days in advance to make a reservation as they never let it get
crowded), plan it so you can have lunch at Junko's BAINBRIDGE NURSERY
which has a humble-looking shack-restaurant that actually makes seriously
superior lunches, plus the nursery is arranged like a real park not just a
tarmack full of stuff to sell, with a very old woodland walk with many
trees planted by Junkoh's dad before WWII, & a nice lawn area near the
restaurant shack dedicated to Junkoh's dad & a weird old tree his dad
trained into the shape of a donut. So it really is more than just another
nursery & makes a good addition for any trip to Bloedel's, especially as
you're not allowed to pack in a lunch to Bloedell's. A third spot while on
the Kitsap Penninsula may be too much of a drive to fit it all into one
comfortable day, but if you do find yourself wanting one more spot while
in my county, Seabeck Scenic Beach Park is the best of over a dozen state
parks because it has everything you'd want of a state park PLUS an
incredible density of native rhododendrons & azaleas packed into every
shady corner of the park -- & if you're doing any camp-outs or are in an
RV, it's a good place to spend the night even, & experience sunset over
the Olympics as seen from the oyster beds.

Back on the Seattle side of the sound, if you have a chance for a separate
day-trip, there's another aboretum near Maple Valley (a bit of a drive
inland from the south tip of Lake Washington), called the Lake Wilderness
Arborteum. The Western Azaleas will be in bloom, this is a huge extensive
area just for every conceivable color variant of this one species, & when
in flower it's even an incredible experience for the blind it all smells
so sweet.

There's much else possible to see garden wise all around Puget Sound, but
these would be the cream of the cream for King County and a fun ferry ride
away in Kitsap County. Pam may have some additonal recommendations, as no
one person ever gets to see quite everything cool around here, there's
just so darned much that is great.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/