Seattle P Patch

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the Community Garden at the Marvista Park in Normandy Park.  As long as I've known, this Community Garden has been there.  Around the Seattle area, there have always been quite a bit of community gardens... long before Michelle Obama made them popular.  It is something that I really love about Seattle.  THE GREENNESS of the people!

During our holidays, we spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill.  It's got a lot of great places to eat, a great second hand book shop to roam through and a lot of my friends that live in its hovels!

It's a great district to just walk around, enjoy the Seattle summer sun and take a sit in one of the official P Patches.

This particular P Patch is located on Summit Ave and E John St.  This P Patch really inspired me to get my act together on my own home garden in Hong Kong.  There was such a beautiful variety of vegetables and flowers. 

The artichokes, in particular, was something that I thought I might try.

I'm not someone who is that good with growing produce from the seed, but I have tried.  The only thing that survived from my green thumbing was my basil plants.  They petered off though…after the harsh winter we had last February.

I am thinking that I might check out Mong Kok's Flower Market to see what plants I might try growing from wee things.

If you seek inspiration on starting your own garden, here are some photos of the Summit Slope Park P Patch.

***A View of one of Capitol Hill's P Patches***

Seattle: Capitol Hill District

Capitol Hill is one of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods to spend time in because it has an amazing vibe about it.  In a few descriptors, this neighborhood, to me, is alternative, hip, and crazy.  

A Capitol Hill Lazy Tourist Day

There are a lot of things to do on Capitol Hill.  Here are a few suggestions for those who want to experience some Seattle culture.

In the daytime:

1.  Coffee and a newspaper at a coffee house

2.  A jog through the neighborhoods

3.  Sunbathing at Volunteer Park

4.  Lunch on Broadway

5.  Perusing the shops along Broadway, checking out the Frye Museum, and stopping by St. James Cathedral

At night:

1.  Dinner on 15th 

2.  Drinks on Pike, Pine, or Broadway

3.  Dancing at Q or Havana

4.  Watching a movie at the Egyptian Theatre

5.  Catching a performance at Seattle Central College

There's a lot to find up on Capitol Hill!

Today, we headed out to Capitol Hill mainly to check out the books at Twice Sold Tales, which is one of our favorite secondhand bookshops in Seattle.  Parking was not that bad to obtain.  We parked along one of the neighborhoods right off of Broadway.  Then we had some ramen at Samurai Noodles.

***Some photos of the Hill***

Pillars at the base of Capitol Hill

Seattle Central College

Cherry Blossom Trees near Cal Anderson Park

Sketches along Broadway

Construction zone on Broadway

Dick's on Broadway 

Shops on Broadway

Shops on Broadway

Dance steps on Broadway

Walking through the neighborhoods

Walking through the neighborhoods

Loving the street names in the neighborhoods

Ramen from Samurai Noodles on Broadway

Instructions on how to hold chopsticks

Garlic Shoyu and Tonkatsu ramen bowls

Twice Sold Tales on Harvard and Denny Way

Seattle: Volunteer Park Conservatory

During the summers, I used to walk over to Capitol Hill and lay out on the lawn at Volunteer Park.  It's a great place to be during the warmer months.  The sun was shining for most of the morning, so we went out to Volunteer Park to chill, drink hot tea and just look at the view near Noguchi's "Black Sun."

The main reason that I wanted to head over to Volunteer Park was to see the newly renovated Volunteer Park Conservatory, which is one of the shining diamonds in the beautifully green rough of Volunteer Park.

The Volunteer Park Conservatory is one of my favorite places to visit.  The plants are housed in a wonderful Victorian-style glasshouse which was built back in 1912.    

I love glasshouses!

Fun Fact:  The Conservatory was designed by John Charles Olmstead and was modeled after Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace in London.

Fun Fact:  I was going through some of my photos from the last summer that I was here visiting the Conservatory because I am not so observant of the changes that had occurred during the restoration and renovation process.   The photos below are from the summer of 2013.  The landscape in front of the glasshouse has definitely changed, which is awesome to see because this place is so well maintained by the Friends of the Conservatory.

Currently, the glasshouse is broken up into three areas:  the Cactus House, the Seasonal House, and the Palm House.

Volunteer Park Conservatory Info:
Open Tuesdays until Sundays
Open from 10 am - 4 pm
Free access

Fun Fact:  You can join terrarium workshops for $125 USD (there may be an additional $10 USD charge for additional materials) from Tuesday to Sunday.  Additional information and the sign up is on the website.

***Here's a little walk through the Conservatory for your viewing pleasure.***

If you are visiting Seattle and are on Capitol Hill, Volunteer Park is a great side trip.  The Seattle Asian Art Museum is also here...and Bruce Lee's grave is also just a around the corner at the Lake View Cemetery.