Seattle's Palm Guy, and the palms he left behind

I'm not a dedicated palm tree lover I do appreciate them. I remember hearing about a garden in Seattle built by a palm tree aficionado, but I never bothered to follow through on checking it out, that is until our trip up to Seattle in February, when I finally made it a point to drive by.

Here's a shot of the man behind the garden, Alain Lucier. 

That photo accompanied a story I found online from Erik Lacitis for the Seattle Times Pacific NW Magazine. Erik called Alain Lucier the Palm Tree Patron of Seattle: "in his double-lot property in Fremont [a Seattle neighborhood], on the 4200 block of Third Avenue Northwest, he had 60 palms growing that he carefully tended. Big, tall palms. Little ones at 1 foot, just getting started. Lucier told me his philosophy: "If you can't grow palms where you are, it's not fit for humans" Lacitis goes on to write that Alain Lucier died of a heart attack Dec. 2 at age 72. The story is from May 2024, so that means he passed away in 2023. His partner, Christopher Ray, is quoted as saying he's doing what he can to keep the garden in order. Reading that sentence my heart went out to Mr. Ray. Imagine losing your partner and then also having to step in and take care of their garden. We intensive gardeners aren't setting our partners up for happy times after we pass on before them.

In the extra-wide hellstrip palms (Trachycarpus sp.) are joined by various Yucca and Dasylirion wheeleri.

Looking up at the house and front gate entry.

Pulled back. BTW, I once had a serious love for lion statuary by front entries. I dreamed that someday I would have lions. Thankfully that love dwindled. They still make me happy though.

Did you notice this more exotic palm to the right of the entry? I don't know my palm varieties at all, but it's obvious this one has suffered in the hard winters of late. It's still alive though!

The right front garden, palms and yucca keeping good company.

And on the left side.

A pulled back view from in the hellstrip.

Dasylirion wheeleri.

A wide view of the hellstrip.

And another look at the plantings in the front garden to the right side of the entry.

Driving up the street it was obvious Alain Lucier's love of palm trees eventually expanded beyond just his own garden. From the Seattle Times story: "Not satisfied with growing palms on just his property, he reached out to neighbors on that block. Lucier asked about letting him plant palms on the sidewalk strips on both sides of the street. All they'd have to do is water them. A few said no. Most agreed. He planted 40 of them at his own cost." Many of them are still standing.

A testament to one man's love of gardening and, in this case, palm trees.

I counted 26 Trachycarpus sp. growing on the block, outside of Alain Lucier's garden.

Well done Mr. Lucier!

The Bit at the End

This may only be accessible if you have a Facebook profile, but here's another look at Mr. Lucier's garden... and with a nice blue-sky background. 

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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude. 

A note about one of our blogging friends

Those of you who are regular readers of Kris Peterson's blog Late to the Garden Party have probably noticed her absence from the blog-o-sphere this week. I know I have. I wanted to let you all know Kris has some medical issues, she's getting great care and improving every day, but her recovery will take some time. Her husband let me know how much she enjoys and appreciates the garden blog community and the friendships that have developed, and that she will resume blogging in the future. 

I know you probably want to wish Kris well, so please feel free to comment here and I'll make sure Kris sees your thoughts. 

Aeonium in Kris' garden, photo from when I visited in 2019

The Kuzma/Halme garden in the wintertime

When I pulled up in front of John and Kathleen's garden on January 31st I really wasn't sure what I'd see. I knew John is a master at winter protection, but I wasn't sure how much of that protection goes up preemptively vs on an "as needed" basis. 

Our winter was quite mild this year. Yes, I'm using past tense. It's the first week of March and in Portland that means the door has been slammed shut on any chance we might see serious winter weather. Over the winter that was we experienced a few nights below freezing but no daytime lows below. No arctic blasts, no ice storms, perfectly dreamy.

Of course all that can be said in hindsight. Going into it, you have no idea what Mother Nature has in store, so if you care, you prepare. Ha, ya... I just came up with that as I was typing. Nobody wants to be caught out in sub freezing temperatures trying to do a weeks worth of work in one night. So we do a few things in advance. 

Agave americana 'Yellow Ribbons' (hardy only to 20-25F) is completely covered, staying toasty warm.  

Other agaves have a roof over their heads, keeping them a little drier and making further protection (should it be needed) a little quicker.

Opuntia staying dry under a low cover.

Dicksonia antarctica (tree fern) and Abutilon under cover, power at the ready should heat me needed.

Tree fern fronds gathered up and wrapped, rather than cut off as some do.

Tough as it is Fatsia japonica needs no protection.

Into the back garden...

A young palm, Butia x Jubaea cross, getting a little careful love.

I shared nearly this same shot in Wednesday's post, that was the summer version.

Phormium under wraps.

And looking towards the fountain.

I have no memory of what might be under those covers...

But I do remember this view being a bit of a shock. In the summertime everything is so lush that I've never been able to see an agave in the upper garden from down by the fountain.

Jubaea chilensis growing out of harsh winter ('24) dieback, protection framework in place should it be needed.

I really appreciated being invited over to see this garden in "winter what if" mode. 

I've had more than a few people ask me why I move things in the fall, rather than waiting to see just how long I can leave them in place, before it's move or die. But why not do things in small increments? Rather than risk it?  

I'm sure many of these plants John built covers for would have been fine with no covers at all in this mild winter. But because he had them in place already, that meant he was free to turn his attention to other things IF the weather turned nasty.

Rain cover over agaves...

A much smaller version...

Hemiboea subacaulis var. jiangxiensis looking just fine in January.

Ditto for this oak.

Reward for a wintertime visit, I don't think I've ever seen these bamboo canes glowing....

The greenhouse is full. We were so busy talking I didn't manage an outside shot. Inside you notice the citrus, and up above, various dormant Colocasia.

Tucked in here and there, Agaves, Like this A. 'Blue Glow'...

Since Agaves don't need much (if any) water over the winter months they can be put up in the hard to reach places.

Another shot of the rain cover.

It really was an odd (but uplifting) feeling to be discussing winter protection on a sunny (warmish) January morning. Saxifraga x geum ‘Dentata’...

Fuchsia, blooming in January.

I think there are more Abutilon underneath the coffin cover? No doubt John is already considering the removal and storage these covers, and getting started on another growing season.

What a gift it is to start from where we left off last autumn, rather than having to rebuild from horrific winter damage.

The Bit at the End

Theo Margelony, who some of you know from his website, The Fuchsietum, recently wrote about the tiered shelving he created for use in his greenhouse. As someone who dreams of having a dedicated greenhouse space in her "next garden," I've filed this away under useful ideas for the future, here's the post.

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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.