Sometimes you just need a break; a cool refresher from the grit of downtown work, traffic, construction. Enter the secret garden, an unexpected wall or nook with beautiful greenery that will perk up your day. Some are tucked away, so you only find them if you know where to look. Others are right on the street, but maybe it’s a street you’d never think to look along. Some of them invite sitting and relaxing, others are just for admiring on foot, but they’re all a great example of how even a little effort can make our town into a beautiful place.
Here are some of downtown Tacoma’s best secret gardens.
1. THE GALLUCCI LEARNING GARDEN
Corner of South 14th and G streets – half a block of terraced veggie garden
Just dedicated in August, this garden transformed a trash-filled vacant lot into a farm that feeds the hungry. Staffed by volunteers, it offers learning opportunities and a gathering space to the community and donates food to local charities. A gravel path winds down the gentle slope past stone terracing, beds full of wildly growing tomatoes, beans and pumpkins; yellow marigolds and red beets light up with color; and a large orange mosaic cement lizard basks on a boulder. At the bottom is a shed with a couple of chairs for relaxing in this peaceful, nourishing place.
2. GOODWILL LIVING WALL
2710 S. Yakima St. – The vertical garden wall in the parking lot of Goodwill
Lush with moss, spider plants, ferns and heuchera, the living wall in the Goodwill headquarters parking lot might be out of the way but the reward up close is feeling like you’re in one of those cliff-face gardens in Thailand that inspired its French designer, Patrick Blanc.
3. COURT 17 GARAGES
Southwest corner of Court C and South 17th Street – the garage doors in back of Court 17 apartments.
Parking garages don’t have to be ugly. Here’s a nice little surprise in the area behind the museum district: a set of garage doors climbing with fall-colored ivy and alternated with tidy maples and ferns.
4. SITTING SPOT ON PACIFIC
1901 Pacific Ave. – the circular sitting area between the History Museum and Union Station
Tucked away from the noise of Pacific Avenue is a serene sitting spot, planted with natives and set with alpine-looking rocks and a bench. How do you get there? Walk behind Clancy’s Coffee as if going to the Bridge of Glass, but instead keep going parallel to Pacific through a gap in the hedge. Perfect for lunch or coffee.
5. STREETS AND GROUNDS BUILDING
2324 S. C St. – vertical wall garden
The yellow stucco building right out of old Italy used to be where the City of Tacoma kept its horses. It’s now the Streets and Grounds Building. Arranged like a sculpture all over that eastern wall are twisted conifers and maples – an unexpected pleasure in the dusty Warehouse District. There’s even a sitting bench for you.
6. TACOMA BIKE BACK WALL
301 Puyallup Ave. – huge garden wall around the back of Tacoma Bike
This one’s not technically public; it’s actually the backyard of Rick and Jori Adkins, restorers of the entire 301 Puyallup Ave. property. But if you duck down C Street toward the railway line you can see it through the fence: a towering wall of the parking lot covered in Boston ivy and underplanted with an array of flowers, perennials and evergreens. There are birdhouses; watch for babies in spring.
Rosemary Ponnekanti: 253-597-8568 rosemary.ponnekanti@thenewstribune.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.