Bellevue Botanical Garden: Celebrating 10 years of growth

Bellevue Botanical Garden celebrates its 10th anniversary at a garden party with plant raffles, historical displays and plenty of advice for home gardeners from 1-4 p.m. this Saturday. The 36 acres of display gardens, woodlands, meadows and wetlands, now a Bellevue park, were logged 100 years ago, then home to a 1920s log cabin and family farm, and later a 1950s-era home and atrium garden that was donated to the city of Bellevue in 1984. The restored log cabin is now on display to the public and the modern residence was remodeled to serve as the visitor center when the garden opened on June 27, 1992.

The garden paths wind through vistas of color and greenery including a Waterwise Garden, Yao Japanese Garden, Alpine Rock Garden with alpine wildflowers, a large fuchsia garden and a summer dahlia garden.

Guided garden tours begin at the visitor center at 2 p.m. every Sunday through October. Visitors are welcome from dawn to dusk daily; the visitor center is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Admission to the garden is free. The Bellevue Botanical Garden Society helps develop and maintain the plant collections and programs and welcomes donations and volunteers.

Bellevue Botanical Garden is at 12002 Main St., Bellevue. For information: 425-451-3755 or www.bellevuebotanical.org.

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

---