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By Salem Monthly Editors
from Salem Monthly, Section News
Posted on Wed May 30, 2007 at 08:20:51 PM PDT
Historic Deepwood Estate’s six acres of formal English Gardens have been augmented by a new native plant garden.
Work on the new garden that will feature plants native to the Northwest and the Willamette Valley began about 18 months ago.
Buck Rushing, a gardener with Deepwood Estate for 24 years and coordinator of the new garden said, “It started with getting rid of invasive species; that was our first goal. This area was overrun with blackberry bushes and poison hemlock that stood over 10 feet tall.”
Once the clearing project began, the question arose as to what to plant in the shaded area. The idea of a native plant garden evolved from there.
“The shaded hillside dictates what gets planted and we are at the mercy of what plant materials become available to us,” Rushing said. “We’ve received donated native plant seeds and starts from local nurseries. No city funds have been spent on this project. It is the result of donations and the work of our volunteers.” More than 1,000 camas bulbs and about 500,000 Clarkia seeds have been planted, as well as a variety of other native plant species. Rushing says that in June many of the plants already in the ground will start to bloom. However, the garden won’t be in full bloom for another 2-3 years as the plants establish themselves.
The native plant garden also will become part of Deepwood Estate tours, events and educational programs. Visitors are welcome to view the progress of the garden. For information or to volunteer contact Tibby Larson at (503) 589-2197 or visit www.cityofsalem.net/~parks.
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