Korean Fir - Abies koreana
There aren't many undiscovered outdoor public places left in densely populated West Seattle. We still like the South Seattle College Arboretum. There's free parking on the weekend, and never more than a handful of visitors scattered around the 5-acre site. It was established by the College in 1978 as a living laboratory for their Landscape Horticulture Program students. The garden sits on a bluff and there's an unusual sight-line view of downtown Seattle, the Space Needle and Elliott Bay. The Seattle Chinese Garden project borders the Arboretum.
We've been going to this little Arboretum for many years watching the growth and changes in the garden. The students are putting in an ambitious new raised rose garden. And it seems like just the other day when the rare conifer section was knee-high puny plants; now it feels like a real evergreen forest.
How many pictures have I taken of that striking blue pine cone? This tree is native to the higher mountains of South Korea. It likes high rainfall and cool humid summers. I wish it luck, because which we have not seen damp summers for a long while.
Is there anything on earth more beautiful than a dogwood tree in full bloom?
The Chinese Pavilion was open today and deserted. They've planted hundreds of peonies and a terrifying forest of bamboo all around the site. I suppose they have plenty of strong young students to keep it under control. Bamboo is considered lucky in Chinese culture. The plans for the Chinese Garden are ambitious and progress is slow, but each time we go there's something new to see.
Other than that easy excursion to SSCC and lunch at a Vietnamese dive in White Center, we enjoyed this scorching day at home and left Alki Beach to the masses.
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