![]() Today, the meadow echoes the native South Sound prairies. In 2014, the Tacoma Garden Club re-landscaped the meadow area, adding a path around the perimeter and planting a collection of native grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs. For the last forty years, dedicated groups have worked to conserve prairie remnants and restore native prairies on old agricultural lands. European settlers found these prairies easy to adapt to agriculture, and the native prairies and their species, so different from those of the forests, largely disappeared. They were maintained as prairies by Native American tribes through burning to stop the encroachment of trees. While forest predominates in the south Puget Sound lowlands, extensive open grassland prairies historically grew inland on well-drained, gravelly glacial outwash soils. White inside-out flower ( Vancouveria hexandra) Oval-leaved viburnum ( Viburnum ellipticum) Red-flowering currant ( Ribes sanguineum) Western azalea ( Rhododendron occidentale) Pacific rhododendron ( Rhododendron macrophyllum) Plants in this garden that grow along the forest edges and in openings with partial shade from forest trees include: Some of these plants also may be found in the deep shade of the forest but usually won’t grow as large or flower as well. Shade helps to keep the soil moister in the dry summer months while sun abets their growth and flowering. The NW Native Plant Garden (NWNPG) showcases representative native plants from the Pacific Northwest coast, ranging from southern Alaska to northern California, and from the ocean to the foothills of the Cascades and coastal mountains.Īlong the edge of forests and in forest clearings dwell many plants that thrive where they get both sun and shade at different times of day. In turn, MPT provides many needed maintenance services. The Tacoma Garden Club volunteers work in the garden twice a month from spring through fall, aided by a contractor. The Tacoma Garden Club has been instrumental in the planning and development of the garden and for a number of significant upgrades over the years. Throughout the garden, several commemorative benches and chairs provide spots to linger and listen to the sounds of the stream and the creatures of the garden. A wooden gazebo sited and partly designed by renowned landscape architect Thomas Church is a garden focal point. Today, paths wind through two acres of native forest, woodland, and meadow, and by a pond fed by a lively cascading waterfall. ![]() ![]() MPT agreed, and a native plant garden took shape in a ravine at the southern edge of the park. In 1963, forward-looking members of the Tacoma Garden Club proposed to Metro Parks Tacoma (MPT) building a native plant garden within Point Defiance Park. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |