Judging by the number of plants flowering around the city Spring is well underway and so on a recent weekend we opened the hiking season on a trail near North Bend.  The woods were wet and dripping but the native harbingers of Spring were out and growing in the wet mucky swampy areas near the trail were the bright yellow flowers of the native Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus).

Western skunk cabbage is one of the only local member of the lily family and grows from a long rhizome or root.  It has large green leaves up to 20” long and over ten inches wide.  During winter as it comes into bloom it burns so much food that it emits heat and can melt the snow as it grows.  The flower is a yellow erect column surrounded by a bright yellow spathe or modified leaf.  It is called Skunk cabbage due to the rancid smell it emits.  The smell attracts pollinators, flies and beetles which think they have found carrion.  As they move from flower to flower they carry pollen on their abdomens and pollinate the flowers.

Skunk cabbage berries are a food source for ground squirrels and bears.  Fresh from hibernation the bears eat them for their laxative effects.  Indigenous people used the leaves to line berry baskets or to wrap salmon for cooking.  They would eat the plants in times of famine but the plant contains a form of calcium with crystals that can cause irritation and burning sensations in the tongue and mouth.

To us however they are just bright splash of color, an almost tropical blaze that helps us escape the grayness of Winter and prepare for the coming Summer.

baxter

Recent summer and winter visits to Seabrook WA have inspired me to investigate the New Urbanism community planning movement. New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use strategies. New Urbanism is strongly influenced by urban design standards that were prominent until the rise of the automobile in the mid-20th century; it encompasses principles such as traditional neighborhood design and transit-oriented development. It is also closely related to regionalism, environmentalism and the broader concept of smart growth. The movement also includes a more pedestrian-oriented variant known as New Pedestrianism, which has its origins in a 1929 planned community in Radburn, New Jersey.

Defining elements of New Urbanism (all exemplified in Seabrook, WA):

• The neighborhood has a discernible center. This is often a square or a green and sometimes a busy or memorable street corner.
• Most of the dwellings are within a five-minute walk of the center.
• There are a variety of dwelling types – usually houses, rowhouses, and apartments – so that younger and older people, singles and families, the poor and the wealthy may find places to live.
• At the edge of the neighborhood, there are shops and offices of sufficiently varied types to supply the weekly needs of a household.
• A small ancillary building or garage apartment is permitted within the backyard of each house. It may be used as a rental unit or place to work.

• There are small playgrounds accessible to every dwelling – not more than a tenth of a mile away.
• Streets within the neighborhood form a connected network, which disperses traffic by providing a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination.
• The streets are relatively narrow and shaded by rows of trees. This slows traffic, creating an environment suitable for pedestrians and bicycles.
• Buildings in the neighborhood center are placed close to the street, creating a well-defined outdoor room.
• 
• Parking spaces and garage doors rarely front the street. Parking is relegated to the rear of buildings, usually accessed by alleys.

More about New Urbanism can be found at http://www.newurbanism.org/

These native plants thrive in the Seabrook landscape:

Dwarf Western red cedar. Thuja plicata ‘Excelsa’ is a narrow cultivar used at Seabrook as hedging or specimens.

Pacific wax myrtle. Myrica californica is the most-used plant at Seabrook, as evergreen shrubs or clipped hedging.

Red-twig dogwood. Cornus stolonifera is used as screening or trimmed hedging; it can take sun or shade, wet or dry conditions.

Baldhip rose. Rosa gymnocarpa is a hardy, small rose with a delicate flower and bright red fruit.

Douglas spirea. S. douglasii is a casual, airy, small shrub.

Coast strawberry. Fragaria chiloensis is a glossy-leafed spreading groundcover with small flowers.

Streambank lupine. L. rivularis is a prolific flowerer that grows quickly from seed.

Western sword fern. Polystichum munitum is an evergreen, textural classic fern used as a filler or accent plant.

New Urbanism offers a sense of community when you want it and privacy when you don’t. Quick and easy access to shared features like parks, playgrounds and commercial areas forgoes reliance on the car. Seabrook is an enjoyable example of this movement where shared public spaces and a sense of community have developed in a sustainable environment.

Michal

When it’s raining in Seattle a great place to go is the Volunteer Park Conservatory.  This year it is celebrating its 100 year anniversary!  This conservatory is a unique Victorian Glass House.  It was built in 1912 and Seattle is fortunate to have it and even more fortunate to have preserved it.   The Conservatory is divided into plant habitats.  You will see everything from exotic cactus and orchids, to carnivorous plants, and the more common azaleas and ferns.

From the beginning, the Conservatory’s mission was to educate, collect and conserve threatened plants.  A visit transports visitors beyond the familiar green spaces of Volunteer Park to world that examines inter connected ecosystems and plant species from around the globe.  When you visit the conservatory, especially in winter you will love the warmth and the beauty of these exhibits.

The hours of operation are 10-4pm Tuesday-Sunday.

While you are at Volunteer Park you might also choose to visit the Water Tower Built by Water Department 1906. It is 106 steps to observation deck. 75 1/2’ above the road.  The top at elevation 520 feet above sea level is the high point of Capitol Hill and gives 360 degree vistas.

The final leg of this field trip takes you to the adjacent, (directly to the north of Volunteer Park) Lake View Cemetery.  This historic Seattle Cemetery was incorporated in 1872.  It is here we are reminded of Seattle’s first families overcoming many adversities and the crucial pioneering efforts in urban development and renewal.  Here are buried the Borens, Dennys, Terrys, and Bells, the nurturing and generous Dr. and Mrs. Maynard, the banker Dexter Horton and Asa’s “Mercer Girls”.  One of the more recent residents is Bruce Lee the renowned martial arts expert who lived in Seattle.

Along with the history this cemetery has some beautiful statuary.    It is a wonderful and interesting open space fromwhich to enjoy the views and history of Seattle.

Arlene

It’s winter in Seattle and so where can one go for warmth and great art…how about St Petersburg….Florida. Yes that one. The new Dali Museum is opening there this month in an amazing building by HOK Architects of London and set in a landscape designed by Graham-Booth Landscape Architecture to remind visitors of Dali’s summer residence in Cadaquez in Spain.

The grounds are full of colorful flowering shrubs, palms and trees that represent the coastal character of Spain, and over one thousand tons of Florida limestone boulders, (some as big as cars) are placed throughout the site to suggest the landscape of Dali’s Catalonian home. The rocks in his landscape paintings are referencing this same landscape.

At the entry a 20-ft. tall man-made boulder supports one corner of the massive cube and a living wall has plants in pockets and flowing water that weeps out of crags and crannies. A misting system gives the whole area a mysterious and cooling effect before visitors enter the museum.

Large boulders were split in half to define the steps, a spiral labyrinth invites exploration, a bench morphs into a pocket watch, entry gates disappear into boulders, this is a site as much fun to explore as one of Dali’s paintings. On the roof solar water heaters heat water for the bathrooms, LED lighting lowers energy use and passive solar addresses cooling. As it is built in Florida the walls are 18” thick and the glass specially designed to resist hurricane force wind speeds, and all the art is on the third floor, keeping it above any incursion by storm surge. Now doesn’t that take your mind off Winter?

Drive by 5407 37th Avenue SW in West Seattle and you will find a garden designed for whimsy and fantasy.  Created over twenty years ago by Milton Walker, a Boeing mechanic, its towers, walls, and paths are Seattle‘s version of the Watts Towers (in the Watts neighbor in California).  This unique garden is constructed using rocks Milton transported from Eastern Washington in the trunk of his car, and embellished with gem stones and minerals.  The result is a colorful delight.

Unfortunately, Milton and his wife have died.  Their family continues to maintain the garden and has opened it for public tours.  Visitors are welcome to tour the garden on specific Sunday’s and holidays.  From the first of June through Labor Day the garden is open Sunday’s (except for the first Sunday of each month) from noon until 5PM.  The gardens are also open on Mother’s Day from noon until 5PM.  The Walker family will allow people who would like to visit the garden outside of these scheduled times by appointment.  For appointment requests call the Walker Rock Garden by calling 206.935.3036.