The fallen willow (Image: CHS)

The maple bench (Image: CHS)

By Domenic Strazzabosco

Streissguth Gardens, on the sloping hillside between 10th Ave and Broadway, lost an iconic willow tree after a wet snowfall this winter. The willow, seemingly weighed down by the snow, fell westward and perpendicular across two of the park’s paths of thin, winding trails.

“It’s kind of bizarre. I never really thought about losing it until it came down,” said Ben Streissguth, who describes himself, unofficially, as the director of the gardens. Streissguth’s parents’ personal gardens were the beginning stages of what constitutes the one-acre space today, and though it’s unknown how old the tree was, he can remember it as far back as his teenage years. Based on Streissguth’s memory, photos and size of the tree, it is estimated that it was around 80 years old.

Streissguth, his wife and a few others, including some community members, have been working to do as much cleanup of the willow and surrounding area as possible. He estimates they’ve spent about 120 hours cleaning up and restoring the space as best they can. Further work will have to be done by Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Just three weeks after the willow fell, a maple toward the southwest side of the park toppled, too. Streissguth has taken what he can of the trees to work on the gardens. So far, there’s a new bench beneath the top of where the willow fell, made out of maple, while the pathway above where the willow stood is being reconstructed using slices of the felled maple. Instead of walking behind it, you can now look down at the willow’s massive root structure. Other projects include creating a wattle fence to create a stronger border between one of the trails and the vegetation running up to it, and edging portions of other trails with willow branches.

Though what will happen to the tree and the space left behind has yet to be decided, the Capitol Hill community around the garden has found ways to mourn the tree, often sharing different connections residents each had with it.

(Image: CHS)

“The willow tree added something special — like you were just lost in time in space for a little bit,” said Luke Hausman, who discovered the tree had fallen when walking through the garden one day after working out on the Blaine Street Steps running alongside the edge. He frequently sat under the willow, especially during the pandemic, and enjoyed the views of South Lake Union and downtown as well as the calm moments and opportunities for reflection it offered.

He’s not the only one. Just days after it fell, Streissguth recounted that Isobel Avian reached out asking to help with the cleanup. They connected over the tree, and Avian told Streissguth she felt as though the tree spoke to her and she shared an intimate connection with it. She dedicated an episode of her podcast, Reset on the Sound, to the tree, which inspired a poem by strictly.f.roots on Instagram. Taha Ebrahimi, author of Street Trees of Seattle: An Illustrated Walking Guide, was also interviewed by Avian, where the tree was discussed.

“Change happens in gardens and it’s good and bad,” said Streissguth. “Now suddenly we have all of this land that’s going to be sunnier and we can put different plants in, but at the same time, we’re losing such an iconic tree and a lot of our shade.”

Several ideas have been floated about what should happen with the tree and the space left behind since it fell in February. It could be completely cut up and removed, or the exact opposite, left as is and have the garden grow around it; if so, trails would require rerouting. Other ideas include building a walkway over the tree to keep the trail in tack, while another pitch involves cutting into the side of the fallen trunk to create a staircase going through.

(Image: CHS)

Streissguth isn’t sure which option is best, but has also done vegetative cutting on the willow, so actual offspring with the same genetic makeup can be replanted.

The gardens have a long history, one that involves the acquisition of multiple plots of land to grow it; the neighborhood coming together with Ann and Dan to oppose a 12-unit condo development proposed in what is now the southern portion of the space, and being chosen to receive funds from the 1989 King County Open Space and Trails Bond that encouraged the protection of undeveloped land that had been targeted for development. The community wrote letters in support, and the family went on to work with Seattle Parks and Recreation, offering to gift their lots if the city purchased the three being considered for development. Since then, a nonprofit has also been formed to manage the space after the family can no longer take care of it.

In 2026, the gardens will mark 40 years as a public green space. CHS celebrated the 20-year milestone in 2016.

The garden’s website estimates that some nine thousand people visit every year, and upwards of 40 thousand get at least a glimpse of it as they cross between the public and private portions on the Blaine Street Steps. The staircase is the second longest in Seattle, with the Streissguth Gardens being, arguably, the highlight of traversing the 293 steps.

Streissguth Gardens is located at 1640 Broadway. The Gardens have posted a video about the cleanup process and how it changed the area here.

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