Address

12317 Gravelly Lake Dr SW

Lakewood, WA 98499 (MAP)

Hours

Open April-Sept, Wed-Sun, 10am-4pm. Winter hours vary, please phone ahead.

Google Reviews

4.6 of 5 stars

Phone:
(253) 584-4106

Information PDF:
View PDF

Venue Costs:
$$

Age Group:
All Ages

Lakewold Gardens

Lakewold Gardens

On the National and State Historic Registry, experience a self-guided tour through this 10-acre garden estate. Highlights include rare and native plants, statuary and Thomas Church architecture, Grounds and gift shop. 

The property first began in 1908 as a 5 acre (20,000 m2) home site for Emma Alexander, who transferred the property to her son Hubbard Alexander and his wife Ruth Alexander. At this point the gardens were already well known in the area. The Alexanders purchased an adjacent site in 1918. In 1925 the property was sold to Major Everett Griggs and his wife, Grace, who renamed the property “Lakewold,” a middle-English word meaning “lake-woods.” In 1938 the property was sold again to G. Corydon and Eulalie Wagner, who began collecting plants and engaged Thomas Church as a landscape architect.

In 1987 Mrs. Wagner donated the estate to a non-profit organization, the Friends of Lakewold, stating, “As we become more and more city creatures, living in manmade surroundings, perhaps gardens will become even more precious to us, letting us remember that we began in the garden.

Lakewold Gardens was designed by the owner, Eulalie Wagner, with assistance from renowned landscape architect Thomas Church, to be a place for people, full of hidden spaces, eye-catching details and framed vistas. The gardens include a variety of gardening styles, from the European boxwood parterres and topiary, to Asian-inspired shade gardens. Plantings closer to the house are formal, whereas plantings down the slope towards Gravelly Lake are less formal. Rocks, streams, woodland areas, and mature trees, pathways, open lawns, and flower beds can all be found on the slope to the lake.

Gardens

Specialty gardens at Lakewold

Washington State Champion trees

  • Acer palmatum – Japanese Maple, see Circle Drive
  • Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’ – Red Japanese Maple
  • Halesia caroliniana var. monticola – Mountain Silverbell
  • Ilex x altaclerensis camelliafolia – Camellia-leaved Highclere,
  • Ilex crenata – Japanese Holly
  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides – Dawn Redwood
  • Parrotia persica – Persian Ironwood
  • Prunus lusitanica – Portugal Cherry
  • Prunus ‘Pandora’ – Pandora Cherry
  • Prunus ‘Tai Haku’- Tai Haku Cherry

 

 

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