The Powells

The Land

The Work

The Reward

1995 to 1998: From Scratch

The first new plant life—rows of hedges—were planted under the guidance of landscape architect Ned Gulbran, who designed the overall layout. Former head gardener Richard Hildner completed much of the original landscaping. It was he, says Monte, “who really built the place.” And although very little happens in the garden without Monte’s direction or approval, he openly acknowledges the contributions of the minds he’s marshalled to build PowellsWood.

In addition, you might see in PowellsWood influences from the other side of the Atlantic. Not only has Monte travelled to England to study European horticulture—on one trip working as an intern in a botanical garden—he also hired British transplant Avril Steele as his head gardener upon Richard’s departure.

Avril was an always-in-motion feature of the garden for years.

Once, while showing a visitor around, Monte spotted an unfamiliar plant. He asked Avril, weeding nearby, for its name.

“Ruellia,” she said, spelling it out. “It was on sale at Furney’s Nursery.”

“I think Avril would work for free just for the opportunity to buy plants,” Monte quipped.

The opportunites existed in plenty during the garden’s rebuilding phase.

Once the soil was restored—a major undertaking in and of itself—and architecture was decided, the vast task of planting was underway.

Steep slopes were graded to reduce runoff, and an access road was snaked through the property to provide access for heavy machinery.

At the same time, Gulbran’s protective hedges were being planted at key boundaries to provide the seclusion necessary for irenic solitude—and to allow plenty of time for them to grow.

By 1997, the garden was ready for its first year of mass plantings: Diane’s favorite Perennial Borders Garden.

The Perennial Borders wind along the eastern border of the property, at the bottom of graceful stairs descending from the Entry Garden.

Perennial gardens require much forethought and vision, since plants mature at different rates and look much different than they do when planted.

And Monte was looking forward to September of 1998, when the garden would first be opened to the public.

But during the garden’s second planting season, the man-made stream would need to be completed.

Monte received wise counsel from Gulbran and others. Runoff often swells the stream to unusual proportions, a potentially destructive force in the garden.

Ordinarily, though, the lazy, babbling brook winds along the western perennial border and empties into a wrought-iron lined pond—where the water, gleaned from local runoff, is pumped back to the southern edge of the property to make a return trip through the garden.

The pond provides a refuge for waterfowl, frogs and turtles.

It also provides a languid setting for garden visitors.

The water flow control, though artificial, also keeps fresh water running for the various plants along its banks—not to mention the frogs, turtles and snakes inhabiting the pond and its environs.

Monte’s brother Craig, himself a landscape architect, drafted the stunning pond design.

It was just the touch needed to make the garden’s opening a success.

The events schedule at Powellswood includes several annual events similar to the garden’s opening in 1998, and provides ample opportunities to tour the grounds. Tanya DeMarsh-Dodson, a Seattle horticulturalist who catalogued the garden’s plant collection, says visiting PowellsWood provides home gardeners with an opportunity to see mature versions of plants that they otherwise would only see in small containers at nurseries.

“If things work,” says Monte, “it can be beautiful to look at. In this case...”

Well—see for yourself!

1999 to Present: For the Community

Development of the other “rooms” in the garden continued during the garden’s third planting season, and in 2000, Monte and Diane participated in a stream restoration project of Cold Creek, which borders PowellsWood on the North.

The bed lies in a ravine which runs from Lake Easter on South 308th Street all the way to Puget Sound at Redondo. Although typically dry in the summer, it flows with such force in the rainy season that over the years it carved a deep and destructive channel along the edge of PowellsWood, threatening the stability of the nearby Marine Hills Swim and Tennis Club. “A geologist told us that a major storm event could send the pool down the stream,” Monte says.

So the Powells spearheaded an effort to restore the stream channel.

Work crews hauled in more than 1500 cubic yards of fill, 600 yards of river rock and 24 large cedar logs to raise and stabilize more than 400 feet of the creek bed.

The project was funded not only by the Powells, but also the neighboring Marine Hills Swim and Tennis Club owners.

In addition, the two-year project required the support of numerous government agencies. In this case, many hands made good work.

Before it was done, the City of Federal Way, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Fisheries had all been consulted and involved.

And the work didn’t end in 1999, either. Fine-tuning the flow in the streambed has been an ongoing effort, and only this winter was restoration work finally declared a success by the city.

“It’s an outstanding example of how a private property owner can manage an environmentally sensitive area in a highly responsible way,” said Greg Fewins, deputy director of the city’s Department of Community Development.