Bellevue Demonstration Garden
Address
15500 SE 16th St
Bellevue
The King County Master Gardeners in cooperation with Bellevue Parks & Community Services manage the Lake Hills Greenbelt Urban Demonstration Garden also known as Bellevue Demonstration Garden. Established in 1984, this urban demonstration garden has grown from a single P-Patch surrounded by blackberries on a steep, rock-filled slope to the flourishing garden it is today.
The mission is to provide public education in gardening and home horticulture based on resources from Washington State University, and to create a solid learning experience for the volunteer. The goals are to demonstrate good gardening practices in a typical urban setting, involve Master Gardeners with the public at the garden using the garden setting and WSU resources and provide a practical hands-on educational resource for all Master Gardeners.
The garden includes a complete MG Diagnostic Plant Clinic, Master Compost Center, Greenhouse Operations, Children’s Garden, over 40 demonstration beds and gardens, Saturday Workshop Series for the general public from January through October and two major events; Children’s Fair & High Summer Celebration in August and Harvest Festival in September.
Hours
Open from dawn to dusk. Wheelchair accessible.
Visiting the Demonstration Garden
The Urban Demonstration Garden is a complete hands-on, how-to garden to help you learn. Demonstrations include:
- Children’s Garden
- Shade, Drought, Native Plant and Herb Garden
- Sensory Garden, Container & Hanging Basket Gardening
- Tomatoes & tomato staking
- “All-American” award-winning marigolds & zinnias
- Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries
- Peppers, Cucumbers, Squashes, Chards, Lettuces & more
- Oriental Vegetables
- Perennials, Everlasting flowers. Lilies
- Roses, 48 Dahlia varieties
- Espaliered fruit trees, Mulberry Tree
- Complete Compost Center
- Fuchsias, Grasses, Heucheras
- Ground Covers, Cactus
Free Drop-In Clinics
April – October: Wednesdays & Saturdays, 9am – 1pm
Consult with Master Gardeners about all aspects of plant care, disease, propagation, identification, and more.
More Information:
- Master Gardener guided tours & programs:
Mary Osborne, (425) 485-5942 - P-Patch Program & Lake Hills Greenbelt information:
Laura Hughes, (425) 452-7225 - WSU King County Cooperative Extension:
(206) 205-3100
2010 Workshop Series
Free workshops open to the public every Sat between 10:30 and noon.
Bellevue Demonstration Garden Talks
Sat 2/20/10:
The speaker will be George Pinyuh instead of Larry Davis
Sat 2/27/10:
The workshop for Fuchsias in NW Gardens has been moved to this date from 5/8 to accommodate a personal conflict in Frankie Dennison’s schedule.
Sat 5/8/10:
We have added a workshop on Water Gardens. Sam Mitchell will be the speaker.
Sat 7/17/10:
Ferns. There will be a change in speakers. Sue Olson called and has had a trip to Ireland come up so she will be out of town that week.
Garden Facts:
Through out the year, approximately 80 volunteers gave over 3,000 hours to provide for the management and care of the garden & clinic.
The garden’s community outreach includes:
- More than 3,500 people visit the garden annually, approximately 1,200 attend the workshops
- Over 1,500 lbs. of fresh fruit and vegetables grown in the garden are donated annually to Hopelink, a Bellevue food bank
- In 2008, 180 participated in garden tours
- More than 12,000 annuals are transplanted annually for city parks & flower beds
- Each year 2,700 tomato plants are seeded and transplanted for the MG Foundation Plant Sale. Proceeds from the sale support Master Gardener Clinics & programs throughout King County
Garden Leadership
Steering Committee Members:
- Steve Walker – Garden Leader
- Bonny Nordgren – Assistant Leader
- Nick Cooper, Emilie Castle, Cathy Ullakko and Wally Prestbo – Committee-at-large
Contact us at: bellevuedemo@hotmail.com.
If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener volunteer, contact Elaine Anderson, Master Gardener Coordinator, WSU Extension Office, Renton, WA (206) 205-3122 or elaine.anderson@kingcounty.gov.
