A Summer to Remember at the Ching Community Garden

The transformation of the Ching Community Garden this summer has been spectacular! 

Thanks to the devotion of our leadership team and volunteers, the invasive plants and debris have been cleared. 

LEEP students spreading chips in the front yard.
Squash growing on the filled slope

Volunteers continue to work weekly at the site. Pumpkins and winter squash planted at the end of May now dot the dusty, filled slope where the house once stood.

On July 25, 2025 Diggin’ Shoreline hosted students and staff from the Lakeside School LEEP program for the second year. 

The great 2025 Lakeside LEEP team!

In just five hours, 32 enthusiastic 9th-graders dug blackberry roots, filled a 10 cubic yard dumpster with blackberry vines and debris, painted A-boards, and laid cardboard and wood chips to keep weeds down in the front yard.

Shortly thereafter, Derek Fowler of Ironwood Landscapes (a horticulturist with 30 years’ experience and lead orchardist for Ching Garden) began removing the thick mats of blackberry, wisteria, and bamboo roots from around the existing trees and shrubs and along the fence lines using an excavator with amazing precision. 

Derek Fowler (Ironwood Landscapes) spreading compost

He also unearthed and hauled off several loads of hidden carpet, concrete, and asphalt, and brought in 50 cubic yards of beautiful dark compost to mix in with the existing topsoil.

As predicted last year, many of the clumps of black bamboo on the property were in full bloom. 

Bamboo flowers once in its lifespan, then dies. All bamboo related to that species flowers at the same time. This is a worldwide phenomenon known as a natural monocarpic death, and for the treasured black bamboo species at the Ching Garden, it occurs approximately every 120 years. 

Because the bamboo was flowering and dying, the team gave approval to remove it. New cultivars of clumping bamboo will be planted following the Jones and Jones community design plan, and again provide the privacy screen neighbors have long enjoyed.

Regrettably, the two water features were also unable to be saved. Some components were salvaged. 

Fortunately, there are historic and current photos for reference. It is our hope to work with artists from the Asian American community to design new features that incorporate aspects of the features built by the Ching family.

A bumper Asian pear crop

September’s work will be to stake out the permanent paths and delineate the new garden beds in preparation for new plantings of disease-resistant orchard trees and fruiting shrubs to complement the historic trees that remain (two Asian pears, two figs, two Italian plums, two red plums, two apples, and a persimmon). 

Most of the trees have been producing heavy crops this season thanks to light exposure, strategic pruning, and water.

We invite folks to visit on Saturday mornings between 9am and 11am when Diggin’ leaders can give you a tour. 

Please use the volunteer link and sign up as a volunteer: volunteersignup.org/T97CF. 

This lets us know when you plan to be onsite.

Planning is also in the works for a Fall Harvest & Volunteer Appreciation Celebration at the Ching Garden on October 18th. 

Watch for details in early October.

Work for the remainder of the year will continue in the lower portion of the garden funded by a site stabilization grant from King County. Another grant from King Conservation Futures will fund the installation of new permanent fencing on the north and south sides of the property.

Initial grant funding for the Ching Garden is nearly depleted. 

Although we are actively pursuing other grant opportunities, many of those are for specific components, such as artwork. 

Now, the pace of progress depends on community donations. With your support, our goal is to complete the garden within three to four years, ensuring that this unique garden becomes a lasting cultural, ecological, and community treasure, accessible to all.

Diggin’ Shoreline is launching a capital campaign to raise funds to build the Ching Garden and to sustain our ongoing work in the community. Please save the date for this special event:

Dinner & Auction Fundraiser on March 21, 2026, at Shoreline Community College with live plants, garden art, unique auction items, and affordable ticket prices ($50 adults. $25 students). Donations welcome! 

For periodic updates on the Ching Community Garden and all Diggin’ Shoreline’s upcoming events, sign up for our mailing list at www.digginshoreline.org.

Donate directly to the Ching Community Garden project here.

Ching Community Garden is located on Greenwood Ave N, near Shoreline Community College.