2024.5.4. Martha Washington Park restoration project with David Perasso

5/4, Saturday. WA Native Plant Society, Central Puget Sound Chapter, organized an open house at Martha Washington Park to see the result of a multi-year project by David Perasso and his team (see David's talk last year: restoring the oak understory with native plants. Some lessons I learned (of no particular order):

• build a fence and plant brushes outside to hide the fence.
• don't plant too many varieties, or too many seedings;
• when you order your seeds, you may not receive what you ordered, so better propogate yourself;

• difference between common camas and great camas, other than the height. Quamash (left) is lighter in color, the seed is formed while petals are open; Leichtlinii (right) is more indigo, the petals curl around the seed. Both bulbs are edible, but requires long cooking.
• Camas are easy to grow. If too many, harvest when flowering, before seeds were formed. Camas seed will form root and dig down for 3 years. Then, it'll stop and form the flowering bulb;
• Paintbrush is parasidic, needs grow with something else, and that could be snowberry.
• Rhododendron wood is poisonous, don't use as firewood. Honey made from some varieties of rhodies can be hallucinogenic.
• don't rely on student helpers. They still have a life, and will abandon you :)

The park itself has a flat lawn and the slope has some oaks and a tall madrone, before it goes down to Lake Washington. Some dog poop. The oak area is small. Other than camas (the highlight of this season), there're chocolate lily, columbine, thimbleberry, red-stem ceanothos (leaves have a faint smell, quite nice). Not much to look at.

One of the participant today highly recommended everyone to visit Glacier Heritage Preserve next Saturday on Prairie Appreciation Day. They talked about the golden paintbrush. What a conincident.

I met up with Yoko who's a horticulcurist. She gave me a ride back to downtown. We were planning climbing before, but had't met for over a year.

Today is the Asian and Pacific Islander Festival at Seattle Center. I quite enjoyed it. Especially the martial art, the Chinese yoyo, Kpop dance, Kahoot (trivia) at the end, and all the colorful costumes. The announcer is funny. A large turnout.