Mareen discovered property for sale in Richmond Beach, about two miles uphill from Puget Sound. Legend has it she agreed to buy without even looking at the house — she was so captivated by the land’s potential for a garden.

The property was still more rural than suburban, with nearby pasture land and even a log cabin to the east. Old Douglas firs dominated the landscape. It was the perfect place for Art and Mareen to realize their shared dream: a garden where native plants would be complemented by rare specimens from around the world.

Mareen’s expertise in growing plants — both native and exotic — had made her well-known in horticultural circles. When she realized her occasional sales to friends and neighbors had become “extra-legal,” MsK Rare Plant Nursery was officially born.

She paid $1.00 for the business license. The initials stand for Mareen Schultz Kruckeberg. A second greenhouse was added in 1976, and the nursery continued to thrive. Today, MsK Nursery still operates on-site.

After four decades of growth, the garden had become something the community treasured. Friends and neighbors came together to form the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden Foundation — a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the garden for future generations.

The Foundation began assisting with maintenance, organizing events, and laying groundwork for the garden’s long-term protection.

Art Kruckeberg signed a Grant Deed of Conservation Easement, permanently protecting the property from development. No matter what happens in the future, the garden can never be paved over or built upon.

This was a pivotal moment — ensuring that decades of careful cultivation would remain intact in perpetuity.

Shoreline voters approved a Parks, Open Space and Trails bond in 2006, enabling the City to purchase the garden from Art Kruckeberg. The partnership between the City and the Foundation was formalized.

Today, the Foundation runs the garden, the on-site MsK Nursery, and community education programs — welcoming visitors year-round to experience what Art and Mareen created over six decades.

• Drawing from the City of Shoreline master plan, a nine space parking lot was scheduled to be built in the SW corner of the upper garden.
• Many plants needed to be removed and planted in other parts of the garden beforehand.
• This included large shrubs and four very large tree Rhododendrons moved with a crane.
• The parking lot was made of permeable pavers and had it’s own gate.
• The new entrance also included a separate pedestrian gate and walkway with kiosk.
• All these changes made the garden more accessible to the public.

• Donated to the garden, this large sculpture is by California artist Bruce Johnson.
• Made from a huge 1,000 year old redwood tree, it weighs over four tons.
• Children and adults can climb on it.
• Towards the north end of the lower garden.
• Sculpture donated by Bruce and Joann Amundson.

• Even though PNW plants are scattered throughout the garden, plans were made to design and build one section which would feature some of the common biomes in one area of the lower garden.
• After a grant was received for the project, non-native plants were removed from the NE corner of the garden & planted elsewhere, beds were redesigned and customized soil mixes were added to the different habitat areas. A recirculating water feature with ponds & a stream cross through the middle.
• Many new native species with educational signage were added.
• After much work and the help of volunteers, advisors and staff, the area was complete.

• Arthur Rice Kruckeberg passes away at home at 96 years old.
• He leaves the garden behind as his and Mareen’s legacy, a physical embodiment of his life as an educator, writer, lover of nature and native plants and a source of contemplation and enlightenment for future generations.
• View Obituary

• A design was created for the City of Shoreline Parks Department for an elevated boardwalk to traverse and descend the hillside to connect the upper and lower gardens. Accessibility had been limited as paths in that area were not ADA friendly.
• Plants and trees on the hillside in the path of the boardwalk were moved to other sections of the garden. Assembly of the boardwalk took approximately 9 months and included special footings which preserved any tree roots around them.
• At completion, not only is the entire garden accessible to all, but the height of the boardwalk offers visitors a unique integrated viewpoint higher up in the tree canopy.