Highline Botanical Garden facts for kids
The Highline Botanical Garden is a beautiful garden in SeaTac, Washington. It covers about 10.5 acres (4.2 hectares). You can visit it every day for free! It's a great place to see many different kinds of plants and enjoy nature.
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How the Garden Started
The Highline Botanical Garden began with a couple named Elda and Ray Behm. They had a lovely private garden on their one-acre property. In the mid-1990s, their land was needed for a new runway at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.
To save their precious plants, an agreement was made in 1999. Their plants would be moved to a new spot next to the North SeaTac Community Center. Starting in 2000, about 200 volunteers helped move most of the plants. They carefully transplanted 85% to 90% of the plants to create the first 2 acres of the new garden.
Gardens to Explore
The Highline Botanical Garden has several unique sections. Each part offers something special to see and learn about.
Paradise Garden
The Paradise Garden is a peaceful area. It has a stream that is about 120 feet (37 meters) long. This stream flows into a large pond that holds 7,000 gallons of water! You can also see a rustic log pergola and many different trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. The best time to see many flowers here is around Mother's Day, but it's interesting all year.
Iris and Daylily Gardens
In 2003, the King County Iris Society added a special display bed. It's about 500 square feet (46 square meters) and filled with beautiful bearded irises. These flowers also look their best around Mother's Day.
The Seattle Rose Society and the Puget Sound Daylily Club joined the garden in 2004. The daylily bed is also about 500 square feet. It features over 100 different types of daylilies! This bed is an official display garden for the American Hemerocallis Society. It shows how different plants can grow well together.
Celebration Rose Garden
The Celebration Rose Garden was designed by several talented people. It has a big open lawn with two rows of columns. A fountain is in the center, surrounded by eight cool steel arches. This garden is home to over 100 roses. It's a popular spot for weddings, with more than a dozen held there each year. All the roses are grown using organic methods.
Seike Japanese Garden
In 2006, a historic garden called the Seike Japanese Garden was moved to the Highline Botanical Garden. This garden was built in 1961 as a memorial for a son who died in war. Shintaro Okada of Hiroshima designed it. Moving the garden was a big project, costing over $350,000. They carefully moved bridges, huge stones, and special pine trees. The Seike Garden was officially opened again in June 2006.
Sensory Garden
The Sensory Garden was added in 2008. It was designed to excite all your senses! This garden includes a rain garden, tunnels made of vines, and many plants that are fragrant, soft to touch, or have interesting textures. It's a fun place to explore with your eyes, nose, and hands.
Future Plans
The garden is always growing! There are plans for a Natural Yard Care Garden, which will show how to care for your yard in an eco-friendly way. A display bed for the Puget Sound Fuchsia Society is also being planned. In the future, the garden hopes to add a Children's Garden and a "Pea Patch" where people can grow their own food.
See also
In Spanish: Highline Botanical Garden para niños
