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The Historic Dunn Gardens

The Dunn Gardens in Seattle, Washington, forms a well-preserved local example of an early 20th century summer estate. The Gardens were developed in 1915 by the famed Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm at the behest of Seattle businessman Arthur G. Dunn. The Gardens express the firm’s goals and principles of design that focus on restful, generous places to provide for space for leisure and tranquility. The plan the Olmsteds presented to the Dunn family enhanced the natural features of the landscape above Puget Sound. Stands of native second-growth Douglas firs were maintained near a wooded ravine that wound down to the waterfront. Other features included a Great Lawn designed as a place for social gathering. Views of the Olympic mountains and Puget Sound from this lawn were originally framed by firs, although these same trees in their maturity now obscure some of the view. Smaller, more intimate spaces, such as the croquet lawn and the woodland walk, still adjoin the Great Lawn and are reached by curving paths that are characteristic design features of an Olmsted-created space. They promote the feeling of expanse in a small space and add softness.

The planting plan included specimen trees such as mountain ash (Sorbus aria) that eventually attained significant height, along with groups of irregular shrubs. Extensive drifts of bulbs were suggested as the understory. At Arthur Dunn’s request non-native maples, beeches, oaks and other deciduous trees augmented the canopy. These reminded him of his childhood home in upstate New York.

Over time the outline of the estate has changed but the broad strokes of the Olmsted plan remain in place. Arthur Dunn’s mantle of enthusiastic gardener was taken up by his son, E.B. “Ed” Dunn, a respected authority on native plants of the Pacific Northwest. The younger Dunn introduced hundreds of species and hybrid rhododendrons along with trilliums, ferns, and native ground covers. Ed Dunn was also known for his collection of erythroniums, a native lily species In 1993 the E.B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust was established. The organization both owns and manages the property. The Dunn Gardens was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

References

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5719