Aloha Spirit

The Yokoyama-Lajko Garden

Whoever said you can't grow tropical ginger in Seattle needs to stroll through the lush grounds of this garden. Step up through the path studded with Asiatic lilies, crocosmia, and agapanthus and you'll discover the babbling sounds of an Oahu-inspired stream. The appearance of hyacinths, papyrus, and hibiscus will make you dream of warm beaches and Mai Tais. Watch out for the pots full of insectivores!

Continue through a stand of bamboo where several varieties create a splendid screen of tropical illusion. A shade garden permeates the soil beneath, and some ferns were planted in 1988, and are original members of this garden. Check out the Australian Tree Fern that has made its home in this stand-alone ecosystem.

You'll come to the working greenhouse, flanked by a mature Twisty Baby Contorted Locust (Robina pseudoacacia 'Twisty Baby'), the winter home for many of the well-tended bonsais and bromeliads that you see today. A whimsical cactus garden with agave and prickly pear catches your eye before you are drawn up to the weeping blue atlas covered arbor. A plant, the owners add, they received as a house gift! In fact many of the plants in this garden began as souvenirs picked up in a Hawaiian airport, like the ginger, or specimens saved from the half price table in a local West Seattle nursery.

Behind the house you'll find a vegetable, herb and rose garden, as well as several of the original Italian plum trees (which I am told make the best wine!).

Insure yourself enough time to explore the deck made by the owners from sustainable Ipe and Brazilian hardwoods. A plethora of pots resplendent in color await you.

The garden is also handicap accessible through the alley behind the house.