Lakeside LEEP Students contribute to Ching Garden development for third year

Hot, tired LEEPers pose for the group photo to celebrate their accomplishments

By Londa Jacques

Just as the heat of summer begins to sap the strength of our hardiest volunteers and vacations dwindle our numbers, here come our LEEPers to the rescue!

These energetic, enthusiastic 14-year-olds brought just the energy boost we needed. On July 24, 2026 Ching Garden and Diggin' Shoreline hosted our 3rd annual visit from the Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program (LEEP). 

Maryn Wynne explains the work stations

The free program provides teens from all over the city of Seattle with engaging and fun activities and classes designed to build students' confidence, nurture excitement about school and learning, prepare students for high school academics, and connect them with new friends.

For the past two years these soon-to-be high schoolers have tackled some of the toughest jobs at the garden, filling dumpsters full of old tires, buried carpet, miscellaneous debris, blackberries and other weeds, and spreading huge piles of wood chips. 

Tackling the weeds on the south fence line

This year's work was equally tough, but possibly more rewarding. Our future leaders learned about the ancient gardening practice of hügelkultur, the ancient gardening technique of building rich deep soil.

The morning began on campus with an introduction to the garden’s history and plan for the day by Kathleen Lumiere. At the garden, LEEPers received an orientation to the various work areas and tool safety reminders, then counted off into six random teams. 

Layering wood in the troughs

The teams rotated through various projects every 30 minutes or so, including collecting fallen apples for composting, gathering logs, branches and twigs for hügelkultur building, pulling blackberry sprouts, digging weeds, and spreading wood chips. 

Sparking a lifelong appreciation of how food is grown, and a love of being outdoors in nature is at the heart of Diggin' Shoreline's mission, so hands-on learning and creating hügelkultur gardens in 6-ft long livestock troughs was the main goal.

In the morning each team had 30 minutes to layer woody debris in each of the six new troughs (courtesy of a City of Shoreline environmental mini grant). 

The teams shoveled planting mix into their trusty Dunn Lumber buckets (now in their third year of use -- thank you Dunn Lumber!), and filled the troughs, watered carefully between each layer. 

Filling the troughs with soil

Amazingly, all six teams completed filling the troughs just in time for lunch. We were right on schedule!

At noon everyone gathered under the new canopy (bought with funds raised by Diggin' supporters), where they cooled off, shared stories of their morning escapades, and ate their brown bag lunches. 

The Diggin' volunteers especially enjoyed the lunches provided by LEEP staffers. Rehydrated and rested, everyone went back to work!

In the afternoon, crews rotated again. Each team planted their troughs with cups full of tiny Asian green seedlings (pak choi, mizuna, komatsuna), and snow pea seeds. 

Cherry tomatoes, eggplants, and edible pansies from the annual plant sale were also planted. 

The teens learned that the plants would be harvested and given to food banks to help provide culturally relevant food to food bank customers.

Everything was finished just in time for our debrief and a group photo. Despite being dusty and fatigued, LEEPer enthusiasm had not waned as they gleefully shared their accomplishments and teased each other about who worked the hardest. Cheers and jeers erupted when it was announced that the girls had hauled the most soil.

Among the many cherished moments was the boy who lingered at the troughs spreading soil with his hands, saying he'd never really felt soil before. (Mission achieved!)

We thanked our LEEPers profusely for their efforts, and Lakeside staffers, in turn, thanked Diggin’ for our organizational skills. 

Of course, all were invited back to the garden's grand opening on October 3, 2026. 

Although most will probably not see the fruit of their labors in person, we promised to send pictures. 

We hope this is an experience LEEP students (and staffers) will remember with fondness in years to come.

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It's Happening at the Ching: Hügelkultur Bed Building Class, July 11, 2026

It's all happening this summer at the Ching Garden!

With the apple tree guild now thriving and the squashes in the central bed leaping, building a large hügelkultur garden bed is the next summer project.

Hügelkultur

Heard about the benefits of hügelkultur and wonder how they're constructed? 

Join Maryn Wynne and Londa Jacques on July 11, 2026 from 9am - Noon for a hands-on class and discover how it's done. 

With many hands contributing, the entire bed will be built start to finish in just three hours!

Hügelkultur is a permaculture gardening technique where woody debris such as logs, branches, and twigs that might otherwise be hauled off site are layered to create a planting mound. 

The mound is then covered with compost and topsoil. As the wood breaks down, it acts as a sponge, absorbing water. As it rots, a rich ecosystem is formed that requires less fertilizer and less water than a traditional raised bed.

The class is free, and families are welcome. Be sure to sign up here!.

The Ching Garden is located at 16034 Greenwood Ave N in Shoreline. When you arrive, park in the south visitor lot at Shoreline College and walk across the street. If you are being dropped off, your driver can temporarily pull into the driveway.

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Volunteer opportunities at the Ching this summer

Gone are those laborious blackberry work parties! This summer our Saturday work parties and gatherings have a whole new vibe...

The trees are fruiting, and thriving are the berries, shrubs and perennials in the "Apple Tree Guild", planted by Lakeside LEEP program alumni volunteers back in April. Our Nursery holding area is bursting with beautiful specimens awaiting future transplanting.

This looks to be a very hot, dry summer. Would you like to volunteer but prefer a weekday? Consider helping on Water Wednesday. Volunteers will receive orientation beforehand. You're sure to be entertained by the many hummingbirds who show up to drink water from the hose.

The pumpkin patch was such a big hit last year that we're doing it again... this time in the large central bed. On June 6 and June 13, we'll prepare and plant 150 squash and pumpkins left over from our May plant sale. There may even be a few extras for volunteers to take home.

Heard about hugelkultur beds and want to learn how to build one? Learn how at our Hands-On Hugelkultur Bed Build on Saturday, July 11, 2026 led by Maryn Wynne and Londa Jacques. With a good turnout, we should be able to complete the 15ft bed in about 3 hours!

Also in July, thanks to partial funding from a recently-awarded Environmental Mini-Grant from the CIty of Shoreline, volunteers will lay substrate and install 6 raised bed troughs to be planted with late season Asian vegetables. Later in July, our LEEP students return to fill and plant the beds as their summer environmental project.

On Saturday, October 3, we'll say goodbye to summer, and welcome the harvest season with the long-awaited Grand Opening of the garden and volunteer celebration!

Sign up for any or all of these events at Volunteer Sign up. The Garden is located at 16034 Greenwood Avenue North in Shoreline, across the street from Shoreline College.

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Diggin' Shoreline to hold a Dinner Auction on March 21, 2026

Diggin' Shoreline invites you to their Dinner Auction “Here We Grow” at Shoreline College, 16101 Greenwood Ave N, on Saturday, March 21, 2026 from 5:00 - 8:30pm.

Tickets to the event are affordable--just $50 and $35 (students). Your ticket price includes three hours of entertainment, fellowship with friends, and food.

Hokum Creak will play during the event, and PattyPan Cooperative is our caterer! There will be live and silent auction items--experiences, art, gardening items, and live plants, including rare and uncommon varieties and natives.

Purchase Your Tickets or Make a Donation Now

Purchase your tickets or make a donation to Diggin' Shoreline on the Auction website here 

Donation Items Welcome

If you are interested in donating items, such as tickets to sporting or cultural events, gift cards to local businesses, garden-related items, or artwork, we'd love to hear from you! To inquire, reply to this email info@DigginShoreline.org and someone will be in touch.

Seeking Sponsors

If you are affiliated with a business or corporation that would be open to being a sponsor for the event, please see the Sponsorship page.

For more information, visit www.digginshoreline.org/events

Inquiries? Email us at info@digginshoreline.org or call 206-437-9118.

Click here for Tickets.

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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. 

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Something's Up at the Ching

Volunteers working on the steep slope of fill dirt where the house had stood

By Londa Jacques, Diggin' Shoreline

After 5-1/2 months of waiting for completion of the demolition phase of the Ching Garden, the Diggin' Shoreline team regained entry and discovered a new set of challenges. 

Where the house once stood there is now a slope of fill dirt. The driveway and patio area are damaged from the weight of heavy equipment. Blackberries again run amok. Although the condition was not unexpected, it was startling just the same.

We needed something to lighten the spirits of volunteers who were sure to be discouraged when they returned on May 31... something more positive than filling in ruts, raking rocks and digging up blackberry roots.

What do you do with a new hillside of rocky clay soil? You plant, of course!

From left: Kathleen, Pam, and Derek digging holes. Steadfast volunteer, neighbor Julian. 
Super volunteer & Diggin' board member, Shirlee

Someone had the idea to plant the many dozens of winter squash and pumpkin starts remaining from the Diggin' plant sale. Planting would be a happier, more hopeful way to kick off the first work party of the year. 

So, at our first work party on May 31, 2025 10 of us did just that. Admittedly, there were a few initial comments like "nothing's gonna grow in that soil". It was a gamble, but gardeners gamble every season, don't they?

Some of the patch

Pumpkin and winter squash growers know that the plants anchor their vines into the soil and their large leaves block sunlight, so we knew that we would get some erosion control, weed suppression, and some soil improvement if even just a few survived. An added hidden benefit for Shoreline gardeners... rabbits don't like their prickly stems and leaves.

A pile of compost, a few bags of dry organic fertilizer, diligent watering, some very warm days, and three weeks later, we are thrilled to say that all of the cucurbits have not only survived, but are indeed thriving!

After three weeks in the ground, the squash plants are thriving

Planted are a random mix of Cinderella, Connecticut Field, New England Sugar Pie, Casper, Atlantic Dill, Spookie Deep Sugar, and Jack-Be-Little pumpkins. 

Also in the mix are Waltham Butternut, Hubbard, Spaghetti, Acorn, and Sweet Dumpling winter squash.

If our experiment is successful, we hope to have an incredible harvest celebration come October. Stay tuned!

Join our Volunteer team. Make new friends!

Work parties have now resumed every Saturday morning from 10am to Noon, and will continue throughout the summer and fall. 

To volunteer, sign up here. Most tools are provided. Bring a long-handle shovel or steel garden rake, if you have one. Wear sturdy shoes for uneven ground, dress in layers and long pants, and bring hats, gloves, sunscreen, and water bottles. There is also a port-a-potty onsite. 

Questions? Email info@digginshoreline.org or call 206-437-9118.

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Time change for Pruning Workshop June 14, 2025

Diggin' Shoreline is holding a Pruning Workshop on Saturday June 14, 2025 at the Ching Community Garden from 10 AM to NOON *

* NOTE: Due to the large number of events scheduled in the area for this day, we have shortened the class to 2 hours.

Learn how and what to prune safely in early Summer.

This class will be hands-on, taught by Derek Fowler of Ironwood Landscapes. Derek is an ornamental horticulturist and nursery specialist with 30 years of pruning experience and the lead orchardist for the Ching garden.

You will have the opportunity to make the cuts yourself. You may also bring one or two of your favorite loppers or pruners and we'll help you properly clean and sharpen them before making cuts. 

Suggested donation for the class is $25.00 (cash, credit, check, Venmo) payable at the workshop. All proceeds go to the Ching Garden.

RSVP for this event using our regular volunteer sign-up link.

Please park in the Shoreline Community College South Parking Lot and walk over to the garden.

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Pruning Workshop on June 14, 2025 at the Ching Community Garden

Diggin' Shoreline is holding a Pruning Workshop on June 14, 2025 at the Ching Community Garden from 10am to 2:00pm.

 
Learn how and what to prune safely in early Summer. This class will be hands-on, taught by Derek Fowler of Ironwood Landscapes. Derek is an ornamental horticulturist and nursery specialist with 30 years of pruning experience and the lead orchardist for the Ching garden.

You will have the opportunity to make the cuts yourself. Bring one or two of your favorite loppers or pruners and we'll help you properly clean and sharpen your tools. 

Suggested donation for the class is $25.00 (cash, credit, check, Venmo) payable at the workshop. All proceeds go to the Ching Garden. 

RSVP here if you can volunteer some time at the garden. Otherwise, no RSVP required.

Please park in the Shoreline Community College South Parking Lot and walk over to the garden.

updated 6-8-2025 No RSVP required to attend the event

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Ching Garden Work Party Kick Off May 31, 2025

We're kicking off our 2025 weekly Saturday work parties with a fun planting event on our new backfilled slope... 

planting surplus pumpkin & winter squash starts from our recent plant sale fundraiser!

Densely planted with a little compost, the plants will quickly cover the soil, smother weeds, prevent erosion, & feed our pollinators all summer long. 

Bring shovels, trowels, & gloves, & wear sturdy shoes.  Minor children 12 & older are welcome with adult accompaniment.  

Please register your intended participation here  

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The Wisdom of Crowds: How collaboration shaped the Ching Garden design

By Kathleen Lumiere

One of Jennie Ching’s roses blooming again

The Ching Garden now has a community-driven plan! 

The design process mirrored what author James Surowiecki describes in his book "The Wisdom of Crowds." 

He explains that groups make better decisions when:

1. People have different opinions and backgrounds
2. Everyone thinks independently without being swayed by others
3. Knowledge is spread among many people rather than concentrated in just a few
4. There's a way to combine everyone's ideas into one final plan

Jones and Jones, landscape architects who designed spaces like the Bainbridge Japanese Exclusion Memorial and parts of the Kubota Gardens, were the keepers of the crucial fourth step. These skilled interpreters drafted the most consistent and appealing ideas into a single vision.

The Ching Team

The genesis of the Ching Garden project was a shared vision honoring Asian American cultural legacy in Shoreline, creating a "food forest" to build an edible ecosystem, and making a place to learn and garden in community.

A core group of volunteers, a permaculturist, a horticulturist, and architects from Jones and Jones walked the site, recording features of the landscape Joe and Jennie Ching had planted years ago: heirloom apple trees, plums, Asian pears, figs, wild climbing grape vines, kiwis, persimmons, roses, black bamboo, and Japanese umbrella pines.

Priya Marita Diaz at the Beacon Food Forest

Team visits to the Beacon Food Forest and Bradner Gardens Park provided advice and inspiration.

Community Design

In addition to a survey sent to volunteers, two charrette-style community meetings were held at Shoreline Community College.

Community meeting at Shoreline College
Photo by Kristina Logsdon

The community reviewed two possible designs: the "Infinity Plan" with paths shaped like a figure-eight, and the "Meandering Plan" with more natural, flowing paths.

After a short orientation, neighbors, plant experts, and enthusiasts split into small discussion groups. They later returned to share insights on which design elements they felt were most important.

These included traditional Asian structures with educational captions, gardening classes, Asian American cooking demonstrations, indigenous plants, and other cultural elements. 

Also desired was artistic fencing and lighting for hospitality and security. Many wanted gathering spaces for both large groups and small, friendly conversations, and covered areas for rainy Northwest days.

Success!

The process resulted in a design that delighted almost everyone, which amazed the organizers. The final design blends elements from both plans, with a comfortable buffer between garden activities and neighbors.

The design includes a welcoming entrance with Asian plantings, terraces that work with the sloping land, a central gathering area for community education, and special spaces like the clumping bamboo forest that feel magical for children and adults.

The main path now meanders more to capture the spirit of Asian gardens, that sense of surprise when discovering beauty, while still incorporating the symbolic significance of the infinity loop.

The Secret Sauce

What made this process work so well? The people contributing were well-informed and well-intentioned, and spoke for themselves. Everyone had special knowledge to contribute, and that information was captured and folded into the design.

The process echoed the community-building values of the Ching family, for which they are still remembered. As the Ching Garden takes shape, it will show not only the legacy of Joe and Jennie Ching but also the wisdom of the community.

Ching Garden design - Colleen Thorpe and Wesley Simmonds from Jones and Jones

To get involved, please contact Diggin' Shoreline. Saturday work parties begin again on May 31, 2025. Like the Chings, we welcome you to the garden!

Financial contributions are needed. To donate, please visit our fiscal sponsor, GROW. In the "Apply My Donation To" box, specify Ching Garden.

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Diggin’ Shoreline Tree Pruning class on March 8, 2025

Now is the time to RSVP. Classes Fill Fast!

The Ching Community Garden house demolition project continues and is expected to wrap up in the next few weeks. Diggin’ Shoreline’s hope was to hold its annual Tool Sharpening & Tree Pruning event at the garden. Alas, the garden will not be ready for public access in time for early spring pruning.

Instead, Diggin’ will offer a formal 2-hour Fruit Tree Pruning Class, taught by Derek Fowler of Ironwood Landscapes. Derek is an ornamental horticulturist and nursery specialist with 30 years of pruning experience. He is the lead orchardist for the Ching Community Garden.

The class will be held at a private home in the Meridian Park neighborhood. Class size is limited to 18. The fee for the course is $25. All proceeds from this class will be donated to the Ching Community Garden project. Attendees will also go home with a fig cutting from the Ching Garden, ready for rooting, along with instructions.

To participate, please RSVP to info@digginshoreline.com, or call or text 206-437-9118. Once you have registered, you’ll receive an email confirmation with the location, directions, and parking info.

Tool Sharpening & More Pruning in June

Do you know that there is much pruning that can safely be done In early summer? Therefore, Diggin’ will hold its Annual Tool Sharpening & Pruning Workshop at the Ching Community Garden in early June. 

Hands-on learning will include ornamental shrubs as well as fruit trees. A series of stations will be set up where you can learn how to sharpen your dull pruners and loppers and do it yourself. 

Watch for more info on the Shoreline Area News and on www.digginshoreline.org or follow us on Facebook.

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Ching Community Garden: design workshop rescheduled; tool sharpening and pruning workshop coming soon

You’re Invited to the Design Review Session, February 10, 6:30pm

All interested friends and followers of the Ching Community Garden project are invited to attend a public session to review and comment on the two final design possibilities. 

The Design Review session will be held on February 10, 2025 at 6:30pm at Shoreline Community College in the Small Dining Room #9208 in the Student Union Building. (16101 Greenwood Ave N. Parking in the South Visitor Lot.)

The Ching Leadership Team and Jones & Jones Architects are excited to share the designs and would love your comments. Based on feedback from this session, Jones & Jones will then prepare the final design.

Once the final design is approved, the plan will be tackled in phases as funding becomes available, through a capital campaign drive, donations, and future grant awards. Your generous donations to Ching Community Garden to support the ongoing work are very much appreciated. 

To donate, click on the link

To receive regular updates on the Ching Community Garden project as well as a meeting reminder, please add your email address to the contact form on the Diggin Shoreline homepage

Diggin’ Shoreline Tool Sharpening & Tree Pruning Workshop Coming Soon!

Diggin’ Shoreline will hold its Annual Tool Sharpening and Tree Pruning Workshop at the Ching Community Garden after the site has been inspected and it is safe for the public. 

Pruning demonstrations will be done on larger, older fruit trees, like those that may be in your landscape. 

Learn how to identify diseases, too. Tool sharpening stations and instruction will also be part of the workshop. Watch for details in the Shoreline Area News in the coming weeks.

Londa Jacques
on behalf of the Ching Community Garden Leadership Team and Diggin’ Shoreline
email: info@digginshoreline.org
website: www.digginshoreline.org
Text messages: 206-437-9118

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CANCELLED: Ching Community Garden and Jones & Jones Architects to share proposed garden designs on February 3, 2025

THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

The demolition contractor hired by the Ching Community Garden, Excavators Northwest, is making quick work of removing the dilapidated house, and will soon begin backfilling to create new garden space. 

Completion of the house demolition phase is anticipated by late February or early March.

You’re Invited to the Design Review Session!

All interested friends and followers of the Ching Community Garden project are invited to attend a public session to review and comment on the two final design possibilities. 

Ching Garden Listening Session, Oct 2024

The Design Review session will be held on February 3, 2025 at Shoreline Community College at 6:30pm. (16101 Greenwood Ave N Building 9000, Room 9208. Parking in South Visitor Lot.)

The Ching Leadership Team and Jones & Jones Architects are excited to share the designs and would love your comments. 

Based on feedback from this session, Jones & Jones will then prepare the final design.

Once the final design is approved, the plan will be tackled in phases as funding becomes available, through a capital campaign drive, donations, and future grant awards. 

Your generous donations to Ching Community Garden to support the ongoing work are very much appreciated. 

To donate, click on this link

To receive regular updates on the Ching Community Garden project as well as a meeting reminder, please add your email address to the contact form on the home page

View of the property from the sidewalk looking east Jan 23, 2025
(Note: property line extends to the fir trees in the back.)

Diggin’ Shoreline Tool Sharpening & Tree Pruning Workshop Coming Soon!

Diggin’ Shoreline will hold its Annual Tool Sharpening and Tree Pruning Workshop at the Ching Community Garden after the site has been inspected and it is safe for the public. 

Pruning demonstrations will be done on larger, older fruit trees, like those that may be in your landscape. 

Learn how to identify diseases, too. Tool sharpening stations and instruction will also be part of the workshop. 

Watch for details in the Shoreline Area News in the coming weeks.

Londa Jacques
on behalf of the Ching Community Garden Leadership Team 

and Diggin’ Shoreline
email: info@digginshoreline.org
website: www.digginshoreline.org
Text messages: 206-437-911

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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

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Ching Community Garden house donated to Shoreline Fire for training and demolition

Ching House photo by Diggin' Shoreline

From Diggin' Shoreline

We are delighted to announce that all permits are now in place, and demolition of the Ching Community Gardens house will begin within 2 weeks.

Although the house could not be moved or salvaged, we were able to offer use of the house to the Shoreline Fire Department for training purposes. Neighbors should expect to see fire vehicles in the driveway and immediate vicinity beginning today and over the next 2 weeks as they conduct training inside.

Heavy equipment used for the demolition will also be moved into place soon. The demo work and foundation backfill should be completed in 4-8 weeks and appreciate your patience during this time.

Any comments, questions or concerns should be directed to Diggin' Shoreline via email:  info@digginshoreline.org and we'll do our best to respond promptly. 

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Fall at the Ching Community Gardens

Raccoons stripping the pears
from the Asian pear tree

This fall, watching the trees bear fruit has inspired so many wonderful possibilities for preservation, restoration, and innovation! 

We are in a race to harvest the persimmons before the raccoons glean them from the trees. These three certainly did a good job on the last of the unharvested Asian pears!

Now, winter is quickly approaching. The permitting process for the house demolition is moving along and final requirements and inspections are being checked off one by one.

Our most urgent work is to complete the digging of blackberry roots from under the trees, and laying cardboard and wood chips to slow their regrowth. 

This will make it easier for our orchardists to do winter pruning. This must be done before the house demolition begins. While a little rain doesn't usually deter us, two recent work parties were canceled due to untimely heavy downpours.

Volunteers needed to help harvest persimmons
before the raccoons get them!

Work parties will continue on November 16 and November 23 from 9am to Noon, and the weather forecast is a little more promising -- only light rain or showers are predicted. 

With enough hardy volunteers we'll be able to clear the 20+ yards of chips from the driveway quickly.

Sign up to volunteer here then grab your rain slicker, sturdy shoes, and gloves, and come out to join us! Be sure to include your phone number when you sign up.

Weather patterns can vary widely from neighborhood to neighborhood in Shoreline. 

Those of you who sign up to volunteer will receive a phone call between 8:30 and 9am if the rain is too heavy to work safely at the site. 

Please park in the Shoreline Community College South Visitor Parking Lot.

The Ching Community Gardens is located at 16034 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline WA 98133

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Listening session for Ching Community Gardens on October 14, 2024

Dear Neighbors, Volunteers, Partners, Supporters, and Followers of Ching Community Gardens,

Many of you have closely followed the progress at Ching Community Gardens and have been curious about its future direction. We appreciate your interest and passion!

Now the time has come for you to share your stories, insights, and ideas! You are cordially invited to a listening session with the design team of Jones and Jones Architects sponsored by the Ching Community Gardens leadership team.

The listening session will be held on Monday, October 14, 2024 at 6:30pm, at Shoreline College in the Small Dining Room #9208 located in the Student Union Building #9000. Parking is in the south visitor lot.

We'd love to hear from you and hope to see you there! Questions may be directed to info@digginshoreline.org

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