Belted by December's windstorm, PowellsWood is back in bloom.
"We lost three big trees and there were broken limbs and branches everywhere - it was quite a mess," said Monte Powell, creator of the private garden.
The mess is long gone, though, and Monte and his wife, Diane, are once again preparing to open PowellsWood to the public for Mother's Day weekend. The fifth annual event takes place from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13. Admission is $5 for adults. Children 12 and under get in free.
Besides Mother's Day weekend, the garden is open for self-guided tours from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays through September as well as by appointment at other times.
Located on three acres just off South Dash Point Road, PowellsWood bursts with a thousand varieties of trees, shrubs and plants artfully arranged in six garden "rooms." The garden features meandering paths, swathes of lawn, a pond and a tea room - all nestled at the tip of a 40-acre wooded ravine.
A decade-long labor of love, PowellsWood continues to mature. "It really does get better every year," said Powell. Mother's Day visitors will enjoy the varying shades of green displayed by emerging foliage as well as the splashes of color provided by blooming tulips and flowering shrubs.
Enjoyment was just one of Powell's goals when he created PowellsWood. The other is education. On the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend, horticulturist Tanya DeMarsh-Dodson will be on hand all day to talk about this year's Great Plant Picks.
Great Plant Picks is an annual program of the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle. DeMarsh-Dodson serves on one of three committees that selects several dozen flowers, shrubs, vines and trees for inclusion on the list. She will bring 10 of this year's selections with her to PowellsWood.
"The list is an attempt to provide people interested in gardening at all levels with a very good list of plants that will perform well in gardens here," said DeMarsh-Dodson. "One of the keys is that they have ornamental value in more than one season. It can be a rare plant, but it can't be really fussy. It must be a good garden doer."
