Heritage Garden Info

This garden is located near 21 Acres south of downtown Woodinville, at Woodinville Farm. The purpose of this garden to display crops pioneers in the Woodinville area grew, and give an idea as to the farming techniques these pioneers used. It is located in the Agricultural Production District.

This garden is sponsored by the Sammamish Valley Grange. The garden is designed with the Grange ritual in mind, to express the Grange values of those of faith, hope, charity, and fidelity. The Grange wishes that the individual learns these lessons as they tour the garden, as well as the historical crop varieties and historical farming techniques.

This is one part of the early pioneer experience. The Garden is part of the Woodinville Garden Walk. This is a series of display gardens, starting with the Native Woodlands Heritage Garden, an Ornamental Heritage Garden, and the Agricultural Heritage Garden.

The garden design is based on the text from the 1867 Grange Manual. It describes the symbolic linkage between the seasons, plants and tools used by all of the laborers and tillers of the earth.The Sammamish Valley Grange is leading the way on this garden and has a small budget approved for this years expenses that will include the basic garden materials. As far as we know, there is not another symbolic Grange garden of this type anywhere!

Native Woodlands Heritage Garden

An early sawmill has been acquired and is in the process of reconstruction. The first industrial endeavor in the Puget Sound region was the lumber industry. The sawmill will be reassembled and will show the technology that was available for producing lumber products (though not operational). This sawmill will appear to be abandoned, taken over by native plants. The plants will form the Native Woodlands Heritage Garden, which will consist of the native plants that existed before the settlers came and brought their weeds with them.

Ornamental Heritage Garden

Another garden will be in place that will show the decorative plants that were available to the early pioneers. Like the Agricultural Heritage Garden, it will consist of plant varieties that were available to the early pioneers. In the middle will be the Halver Farm trapper’s cabin, and it will sometimes may be inhabited by a “trapper” himself!

The Agricultural Heritage Garden not only demonstrates how our forefathers grew crops, but also provides a contemplative place for the individual to ponder his or her place in the community and relationship with the land.

“Since God placed man on the earth, agriculture has existed. There is no occupation that precedes it, no order or association that can rank with the tillers of the soil. Before literature existed, before governments were known, agriculture was the calling of man. And all the fruits of social progress since then grew from the brown soil. Agricultural toilers, therefore, claim this precedence over royal dynasties and titles of nobility—that they represent the oldest and most indisputable lineage, and hold a patent that issues from the ancient gates of Eden. “

Partners of the Garden

Besides the Grange, there were other organizations that made this possible:

Woodinville Heritage Society

The Woodinville Heritage Society will advise of the historical crop varieties and farming techniques. It will also aid in the construction of the sawmill and the help with the Ornamental Heritage Garden.

21 Acres

21 Acres is the organization which partners with the site; we are leasing the land from them. Their mission is to “cultivate, demonstrate and advance systems that support sustainable agriculture. 21 Acres is a non-profit organization with a vision to create and operate a vital, open public space for all of us to rediscover the agricultural heritage of our region and learn about cutting-edge, sustainable agricultural design and technologies as well as ways to maximize the beneficial aspects of fresh local produce and farm products.

Olympic Nursery

Olympic Nursery provides the land and inspiration and support for these projects.

A ground breaking ceremony and horse drawn equipment demonstration by Pat Haglin of Paradise Lake Belgians and the Washington Draft Horse Association was held on June 5th,2004. The Garden was dedicated on Friday, April 25, 2008.

If you have any more information, you may contact either Trish Knox or Ron Baum.

Here is the write-up in the Grange News (see page 16) about our Garden.

Heritage Garden Info

SAMMAMISH VALLEY GRANGE #286

Working to preserve the Sammamish Valley’s rural heritage—since 1909!

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