A Highline garden with a colorful history will reopen in a new spot this summer.

Plans are moving ahead to move the Seike Japanese Garden from its original site along Des Moines Memorial Drive to the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden.

SeaTac City Council members accepted bids Jan. 24 to remove some trees at the former Des Moines Way Nursery and do rough grading at the Japanese garden's new location near the North SeaTac Community Center.

The old nursery and adjoining garden just north of state Route 518 was bought by the Port of Seattle from the Seike family in 2002 as part of its third runway project.

The Port operates Sea-Tac International Airport.

Big Tree Inc. of Monroe submitted a low bid of $15,300 for the tree removal and Royal Construction won the grading contract with a bid of $18,860.

SeaTac Parks Director Kit Ledbetter asked for a 20 percent contingency for the two contracts. He said while 10 percent is the usual contingency, he was uncertain what problems the contractors might face during the project.

Bids for transferring the 2,000 square-foot pool and related stone work were rejected as too high.

Ledbetter expects to present new bids to council members next week.

Because the original garden is overgrown, movers will focus on recreating the stonework, pond and bridges. Only about a dozen of the mature trees will be moved.

The recreated garden will more closely resemble the Seike garden when it first opened in 1961 instead of the more mature garden it became.

But the new garden will be size of the original, according to Ledbetter. He insists designers are following the original plan "rock for rock."

Placement of the stones in a Japanese garden are as important as the pond, plants and trees, according to Ledbetter.

Because of the historical value of the garden, professionals are doing most of the restoration work, said Paul Illian, chairman of the botanical garden foundation board.

"We're real excited," Illian declared. ""We are proud to offer a spot for the Seike garden."

The trees and pond should be in place by mid-May with a dedication planned as summer begins.

Funds for the expensive move came from individual contributions and a $246,000 grant from the Legislature.

The city of SeaTac has also contributed $50,000. Additional donations are being sought.

The cities of Burien and SeaTac each allocated $5,000 per year for maintenance of the garden at its old site while moving plans were underway.

The SeaTac nursery is across the street from Burien's eastern boundary.

Ledbetter also praised the Port, which sold the plants for 60 to 80 per cent off their real value.

According to the botanical garden's Web site, the original Japanese garden has been a colorful part of Highline's history.

Shinichi Seike immigrated to Seattle in 1919 from a southern Japanese island.

In 1929, he bought 13 acres near what is now the memorial drive.

But as Japanese immigrants, Seike and his family were interned during World War II.

His three sons served in the United States. military during the war. Middle son Toll was killed in action in France while serving with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team -- the most decorated military unit in U.S. history.

While many Japanese-American families lost their land during their internment, the Seikes' land was saved, ironically, by a German-American family who managed their property in the Seikes’ absence.

After Shinichi Seike's surviving two sons, Hal and Ben, earned horticulture degrees from Washington State University in 1953, the family opened the nursery store.

To memorialize Toll and commemorate the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, the family started building the Japanese Garden in 1961.

With the assistance of Hiroshima designer Shintaro Okada, the garden was completed and opened in June 1961.

At the gala opening, a 25-cent admission fee was collected to benefit Children's Hospital. Anyone wearing a kimono was admitted free.

Garden clubs toured by appointment and the public was admitted several times a year until about 1973.

The garden was closed for a decade because of theft and vandalism but was reopened in 1983 as one of Highline's "best kept secrets."

The garden is a classic pond and mountain garden, built at a cost of about $75,000.

The mountain used 350 tons of stone and 100 cubic yards of topsoil. The pond took 12 hours to fill from an artesian well on the property.

Many of the plants came from Shinichi Seike's personal collection. Among them is a gnarled laceleaf Japanese maple that is over 100 years old.

Eric Mathison can be reached at hteditor@robinsonnews.com or 206-388-1855.