Ching Community Gardens Celebrates One Year

Ching Community Gardens Celebrates One Year

Acquisition

On December 31, 2023, GROW took possession of the future home of the Ching Community Gardens, thanks to nearly three years of effort from neighbors and the greater community, the support of the Canlis Restaurant family, and substantial grants from the King Conservation District.

Aerial photograph

With GROW serving as our land trust holder and fiscal sponsor, and Diggin’ Shoreline stepping up to serve as “boots-on-the-ground” we celebrated by stripping a few blackberries to reveal a tiny peek at what we had just acquired.

Check

2024 Milestones

Weekly work parties began in early April. On Saturday mornings, small bands of determined volunteers worked to free orchard trees from their cocoons of blackberry vines, cut away miles of runaway wisteria vines, pulled up old carpet, and laid cardboard and wood chips.

Blackberry pile

Work parties were limited to 2-3 hours in length to avoid volunteer burnout. 

Some were curtailed, and a handful were cancelled due to wind, downpours, or heat. 

Even with the challenges, 100+ volunteers managed to donate more than 800 hours of their time and energy.

Diggin’ Shoreline received a generous donation of 250 bareroot fruit trees that were given away on two consecutive Saturdays in June, bringing much new attention to the garden.

Tree give away

In July, 35 enthusiastic student volunteers (ages 14-18) from the Lakeside School LEEP summer program came to volunteer as part of their environmental studies. 

Many returned throughout the summer and fall to continue helping. 

More young people from the neighborhood volunteered as a fun and meaningful way to fulfill high school required service hours.

LEEP kids

Rose

The discovery of a cluster of 10 still-alive rose plants from Jennie Ching’s last rose garden was one of the highlights of the summer and rekindled waning spirits in the heat of the summer.

Ching Community Gardens held its first volunteer celebration on September 7 with 28 volunteers and garden leaders attending.

Celebration

The first public listening session and presentation of design concepts led by the landscape design team of Jones & Jones was held on October 14th.

Listening session

The racoons graciously left a few apples, Asian pears, plums, figs, and persimmons from the old orchard trees to share with the volunteers.

Persimmon

Raccoons

Alas, the beautiful black bamboo at the back of the property is beginning to bloom, signaling the end of its natural lifecycle. 

Blooms happen every 40 to 120 years, a phenomenon that is now occurring worldwide.

Bamboo flowering

Work in October and November turned mostly to laying down cardboard and wood chips to protect the roses and discourage blackberry regrowth during the winter months.

Work party

Now, 12 months later, the leadership team is delighted to announce that all of the permitting is now in place to demolish the house on the Ching property and make way for more garden space. 

Because the house had stood vacant for more than 10 years, it could not be moved or salvaged.

Instead, the house was donated to the Shoreline Fire Department for training purposes.

Firefighters

A few special items such as small statuary, black bamboo canes in the path of the demolition, and the sandstone facade have been saved for future use elsewhere in the garden.

Facade

Next Steps in 2025

Soon, temporary fencing will go up, and our demolition contractor, Excavators Northwest, will begin the steps to bring down the house and complete the necessary backfill. Work parties and tours will not be held until late February or early March when the property has been re-inspected and is deemed safe.

A second public session to review and comment on the two final design plans is scheduled for February 3, 2025 at Shoreline Community College. To receive further details, please add your email address to the contact form on the home page at www.digginshoreline.org.

Diggin’ Shoreline plans to hold its annual tool sharpening and tree pruning workshop at the Ching Community Gardens as one of the first activities. Details to be posted on Shoreline Area News by mid-February.

In the meantime, during this dormant season, your generous donations to Ching Community Gardens  would be very much appreciated. To donate, click on this link

--Londa Jacques
on behalf of the Ching Community Gardens Leadership Team and Diggin’ Shoreline
email: info@digginshoreline.org
website: www.digginshoreline.org