Phase I of our soon-to-be-installed Northwest Native Plant Demonstration Garden came closer to reality this week thanks to a donation from Cedar Grove Compost and a crew of workers from Earthcorps! The hard-working crew spread twenty-five yards of compost in the garden area. They also cleared vegetation, rototilled the planting beds, and otherwise helped prepare the area for Phase I of planting this fall.
Phase I of the project includes planting and installation of the beds in the north and east portions of the demonstration garden area. The beds will feature ferns, groundcovers and shrubs native to the Puget Sound lowland forests, and a small re-creation of a Puget Sound prairie ecosystem. The Phase is on schedule to be completed this year.
Thankfully, Earthcorps also helped with maintenance in some other areas of the KBG. We’ve been so busy with the demonstration garden, and other special garden projects, that normal garden maintenance has fallen by the wayside a bit. The KBG needed a bit of TLC. Thanks, Earthcorps!
Earthcorps is a non-profit organization that employs young adults to work on restoration and maintenance projects in parks and natural areas around the Seattle area. The program includes valuable environmental education, and recruits crewmembers from around the United States and throughout the world. The crew at the KBG this week included crewmembers from Pakistan and the Phillipines!
Big thanks to Cedar Grove for donating a portion of the compost. It was a deal! And thanks to the City of Shoreline for providing us with the Earthcorps crew to help out.