Summer 2003

Volunteers Help Revive Fragrant Garden

The Lighthouse’s Dave Roberts and Master Gardener Helen Weber take a break from pruning trees in the fragrant garden

Thirty years ago a dream came true. Mrs. Ethel L. Dupar believed that blind people in Seattle should have access to the joys of a specially designed fragrant garden, like one she had seen in Scotland while visiting her son. Thanks to Mrs. Dupar’s hard work and generosity, the Ethel L. Dupar Fragrant Garden opened on July 27, 1973 on the grounds of the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind.

“Last year a number of folks on the Employee Positive Action Committee brought up the garden as a project we should look at,” recalls Dave Roberts, Maintenance Engineering Support Specialist. “The garden had become kind of run-down over the years. A lot of the original fragrant plants were gone, and things like bamboo and ivy were taking over.”

Dave, who has worked at the Lighthouse for eighteen years and is legally blind due to juvenile macular degeneration, began doing some research. “The first thing I did was read the plaque in the garden that mentioned Ethel Dupar,” he reports. “I didn’t realize that an individual from the community was responsible for starting the garden.” Dave also learned that the fragrant garden eventually became a joint project of the Lighthouse, the Seattle Housing Authority and the Dupar family. In addition, the City of Seattle created space for the garden by ceding one block of South Hill Street.

“I saw on the plaque that the garden had opened in 1973. I thought to myself, hey, that means the thirtieth anniversary is just next year. It would be fantastic if we could fix this all up and have a grand re-opening like the original event,” says Dave. The next step involved finding some gardening expertise in the community.

In August 2002, the Lighthouse placed a notice with the King County Master Gardeners asking for volunteers. Fortunately for us, Helen Weber responded. “It would have been impossible without her, ”Dave adds. “Helen and the rest of the volunteers have been a gigantic help. She’s extremely knowledgeable about plants, what they need, and what’s available.” Helen is quick to return the compliment. “Dave is an incredible asset to this whole project,” she says. “Together we have done much of the pruning that we thought we’d need an arborist for. He’s quite a gardener in his own right.”

Helen became involved with the garden after reading the notice in her King County Master Gardeners newsletter. “Most of the volunteers for our work parties come from the Master Gardeners too,” she says proudly. After visiting the Lighthouse and walking through the garden space, Helen was hooked. “I have always loved fragrant plants. They have been a lifelong fascination for me,” she explains. “The project just seemed to have a nice size and scope. It had so many good things going for it. I really had no idea how huge the project would get.”

More volunteers, financial contributions and in-kind donations are needed to complete the project. So far, about half of the estimated $10,000 project has been funded through community support. “It’s gratifying to see parts of the garden looking the way we want them to. We have dianthus in bud right now that will bloom in the next couple weeks. It has a nice, spicy fragrance. We’re on our way, but it will take a couple more years of growing for it to be glorious,” Helen says.

If you have questions or would like to become involved with the Ethel L. Dupar Fragrant Garden project, please contact Melissa Mueller at 206-436-2116 or mmueller@seattlelh.org.

We thank the following individuals and organizations for financial and in-kind contributions supporting the fragrant garden project:

James Adams Capt. David Alger Anonymous Bruce Babbitt Don and Lori Bartie Herb Bridge Annie Bruck Thanh Bui Chris Carle Daisy Chin June Shoemaker Cockrill Dan Crow

Dorothea Eberz-Wagner Margarita Eng Paul Fletcher Patricia Fogard Allen Goldstein Ruth Hutchison David Jackson Larry Kosoff Bob Kruse Marie Massena Joe Morgan Mrs. Merle Morris

Arline Nelson Lorie Noel Mrs. Jacqueline Peckinino Susan Peterson Gerald Pickens Dave Roberts Robin Rowedder Rutcher Sedell Mathuradas Shah Neil Sharp Mrs. Helen Smith Cathi Sommer

Elaine Stevens Carl Swanson Leo Vandervort Chief Kitsap Lions Club Dupar Foundation Fremont Gardens Kiwanis Club of Mercer Island Magnolia Garden Cneter Stanwood Lions Club

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