i Foreword The results of this project are from the combined efforts of a team of talented students at the University of Washington. The five members of this team came to this project with diverse experiences and knowledge. The team included Landscape Architecture students and Environmental Horticulture/ Urban Forestry students; including undergraduate and graduate students. Amongst the team were individuals with extensive experience in nursery management, municipal arboriculture, landscape design, and environmental consulting. The team even included an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist and Washington State University Master Gardeners. We hope that this project will contribute significantly to the implementation of a Native Plant Synoptic Garden at Washington Park Arboretum. The information contained in this project should be used in conjunction with other previous projects that have focused on the creation of this garden. By combining all this cumulative information, the final stakeholders and designers at Washington Park Arboretum will be able to synthesize and create this world class garden. ii Contents FOREWORD……………………………………………………………………………………..i INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………..1 Site Location……………………………………………………………………………………..1 Site History……………………………………………………………………………………....1 Project Goals ……………………………………………………………………………………..2 SITE ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………………………...3 Existing Vegetation…………………………………………………………………………….....6 Topography……………………………………………………………………………………....7 Climate…………………………………………………………………………………………..8 Soils …………………………………………………………………………………………….10 SYNOPTIC GARDEN DESIGN…………………………………………………………….…17 Design Concept………………………………………………………………………………....17 Design Proposal by Zones………………………………………………………………………..18 DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION..................................................................................................20 Site Preparation………………………………………………………………………………….21 Plant Specifications………………………………………………………………………….......21 Installation Plan………………………………………………………………………………....22 Plant Selection…………………………………………………………………………………..24 AFTERCARE AND MANAGEMENT………………………………………………………...80 Irrigation…………………………………………………………………………………….....81 Weeding………………………………………………………………………………………...82 Monitoring………………………………………………………………………………………83 Mulching………………………………………………………………………………………..84 Pruning………………………………………………………………………………………....85 By Zones………………………………………………………………………………………..86 BUDGET………………………………………………………………………………………..88 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………….90 APPENDIX A: Soil Lab Analysis Results………………………………………………….…..95 APPENDIX B: Plant Specifications…………………………………………………………….96 APPENDIX C: Annual Budget………………………………………………………………....98 PLANT SOURCE LIST...............................................................................................................99 PLANT PRICE LIST..................................................................................................................101 Native Plant Synoptic Garden 1 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Site Location The Washington Park Arboretum is located in the middle of Seattle’s Montlake Neighborhood. Its location amidst a growing metropolitan city underscores the importance of its existence. This large park provides both wildlife habitat as well as such cultural amenities as recreation and education. The location of our design proposal is by the Graham Visitors Center along Arboretum Drive (please refer to the Design section for a descriptive map). History of Washington Park Arboretum The Washington Park Arboretum was founded officially in 1934 when an agreement was signed by the University of Washington and the City of Seattle, allowing the university to develop and manage the Arboretum. The Arboretum Foundation was founded soon after, in 1935, as its major support organization (Washington Park Arboretum 2004). With the help of donations from the Seattle Garden Club in 1936, James F. Dawson and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. of the Olmsted Brothers landscape firm were hired to design the first planting design. The Arboretum has many historical features such as Azalea Way and Stone Cottage where 500 men were hired through the Public Works Administration during the Great Depression to construct these features. After World War II, Brian O. Mulligan became director of the Arboretum. He modified the original design by siting plants in improved locations and emphasized the importance of designing with a focus (Washington Park Arboretum 2004). In the late 1970’s a master plan update resolved problems and disagreements between the city, university and surrounding Arboretum neighborhood. The University of Washington Native Plant Synoptic Garden 2 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ reaffirmed its management role in 1980 by establishing the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) at Union Bay, which is sited only 1.5 miles from the Arboretum. The CUH provides facilities, programs, and staff that manage the Arboretum. Beginning in the late 1980’s, discussion intensified about the future of the Arboretum. Meetings commenced to draft a plan for the rejuvenation of the Arboretum, otherwise known as the Master Plan (Washington Park Arboretum 2004). The Master Plan has now reached a point where implementation of it will begin soon. As a result, research and information pertinent to individual projects within the Master Plan is being assembled. Project Goals The main objective of this project is to expand upon the previous work accomplished by Stephen John Van Hoven in his Master’s thesis entitled, A Foundation for a Synoptic Garden of Native Plants of Puget Sound for the Washington Park Arboretum. In this thesis a clear rationale was described for the implementation of a Native Plant Synoptic Garden at Washington Park Arboretum; the Native Plant Synoptic Garden is already included as part of the overall Washington Park Arboretum Master Plan which was referred to earlier. In his thesis, Mr. Van Hoven suggested future work that must be performed before implementation of this garden commences. For example, he states that before this garden is created at Washington Park Arboretum, a “thorough soil site analysis should be performed including tests for nutrient levels, organic matter, and bulk densities” (Van Hoven, 2003). With this broad goal in mind, our team ambitiously set out to expand upon the preliminary work of Mr. Van Hoven. In several ways this project contributes significantly to implementation of a Native Plant Synoptic Garden at Washington Park Arboretum. First, we conducted a thorough site analysis for the proposed location of the future garden; included in this was lab analysis for soil nutrient levels and measurements of soil bulk density. Second, our talented team of designers created a “zonal” design for the garden; zonal infers a design that groups plants by community type, but does not plot the specific location of each individual plant. Third, we have compiled an exhaustive list of plants, trees, and shrubs, including cultivars to be selected from by the final design team. This listing includes plant descriptions as well as specific recommendations for placement within our designed zones. The list alone was a monumental task that should be especially useful at the time of final design. Fourth, we set clear parameters for what will be needed during installation of this garden, as well as for aftercare once it is installed. Finally, we began to look at specific budget requirements needed to implement and maintain this garden. This includes a review of such items as current annual operating expenses Native Plant Synoptic Garden 3 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ for Washington Park Arboretum’s grounds maintenance, as well as prices of plants included for selection in the Native Plant Synoptic Garden. Site Analysis Completing a site analysis is one of the most important steps in any landscape planning situation. A thorough site analysis looks at all of the main factors that will or could affect the decisions made in the landscape plan. It also considers what factors might affect the final product at some point in the future. The main physical properties observed and measured when doing a site analysis are the existing vegetation, topography, temperature, precipitation, wind speed and direction, exposure to light, and soil characteristics. Climatic factors are a key factor influencing what to do at a site as well as how and when to implement the landscape plan. Site analysis also takes into account plant life that already exists on site that could help enhance the landscape project (Harker et la., 1999). Recognizing the plant species or vegetation types that are present at a site can determine what could or should be done to alter the site. If there are desirable species within a chosen site that can be included in the landscape plan, efforts should be made to do so; using existing vegetation in a landscape plan can reduce overall costs (Harke r et la., 1999). Plants that do not fulfill a specific goal within a landscape plan or that would hinder new plant success can be transplanted to another location or removed altogether. Transplanting would be included as part of the site preparation portion of a landscape plan, and should be done properly to ensure plant health. It is the Washington Park Arboretum’s