First Photo Mom and me in front of one of the garden's dawn redwoods, once thought to be extinct. Carl English started it in 1948 from the first seeds brought to America after the species was rediscovered in China.
One of the things David wanted to do when he got home to Seattle was visit the Chittenden locks - a massive system built by the US Army Corps of Engineers to lift boats of all sizes from the ocean (Elliott Bay) to Lake Union and Lake Washington.
A big attraction of the Locks is the Carl S English botanical gardens. Our tour guide told us that the 7 acre garden was originally meant to be a parade grounds (flat area of grass) in the military style. But the young officer in charge of the grounds, Carl English, didn’t like the idea of mowing all that grass, so over the course of several years he turned the grounds into a garden, and he did this without any budget or even permission from his superior officers.
This is how he did it. Whenever he and his wife had vacation time they travelled to various destinations and hiked and collected seeds. Then they grew the seeds in their greenhouse and planted them in the garden. They also corresponded with other botanists and traded seeds in the mail.
Today the garden is famous for it’s hundreds of rare and beautiful plants.
A big attraction of the Locks is the Carl S English botanical gardens. Our tour guide told us that the 7 acre garden was originally meant to be a parade grounds (flat area of grass) in the military style. But the young officer in charge of the grounds, Carl English, didn’t like the idea of mowing all that grass, so over the course of several years he turned the grounds into a garden, and he did this without any budget or even permission from his superior officers.
This is how he did it. Whenever he and his wife had vacation time they travelled to various destinations and hiked and collected seeds. Then they grew the seeds in their greenhouse and planted them in the garden. They also corresponded with other botanists and traded seeds in the mail.
Today the garden is famous for it’s hundreds of rare and beautiful plants.
It's often referred to as the garden grown with postage stamps.
I think this story has many applications for us as we journey on our way home:
Planning and goal setting are very important.
We need hard work and focus.
We need to gather as much research and information as we can.
We often need to enlist the help of others.
In life, most things of value are a marathon, not a sprint.
I'd be very interested to hear your feedback on this story, and anything else it teaches us.
Luv to all,
Dad/Gramps
I think this story has many applications for us as we journey on our way home:
Planning and goal setting are very important.
We need hard work and focus.
We need to gather as much research and information as we can.
We often need to enlist the help of others.
In life, most things of value are a marathon, not a sprint.
I'd be very interested to hear your feedback on this story, and anything else it teaches us.
Luv to all,
Dad/Gramps
I was determined when I saw Elder Schneider for the first time in two years that I absolutely would NOT cry. That's not one of David's favorite things. So when we went to the mission home in Santiago, the family was actually trying to help me out. They wouldn't let me read the letter that President May wrote to us and they kept cracking jokes to make me laugh. So I'm happy to say that when I saw Elder again that I did NOT cry! I guess I couldn't because I was too happy. (That's the first photo.)