Piper Orchard

Piper Orchard is a fruit orchard containing primarily heirloom apple trees, located within Seattle Washington's Carkeek Park.

History

Early

The orchard was planted in what was then the homestead of notable Seattle settler A.W. Pipercite book
last = Dorpat
first = Paul
authorlink =
title = Then and Now, Vol II
publisher = Tartu Publications
series =
year = 1992
doi =
isbn = ] , sometime after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 which destroyed the Pipers' downtown business, the Puget Sound Candy Factoryblah] .

The orchard is located on a hillside in what is now known as Piper Canyon, above Pipers Creek.

Mrs Wilhelmina (or Minna for short) Piper was the primary gardener and grafterCitation |
journal = Neighbors, Orchardists and Family Oral History Meeting Transcription
pages = 1-4
date = February 20, 1985
year = 1985 ] .

One of the Pipers's sons, Paul Piper, used to take the fruit to market in Seattleblah] .

Restoration

In 1983 a group of volunteers began clearing away overgrowth that had hidden the orchard from most people. The Adopt-A-Park office of the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation encouraged the work. Twenty-Nine surviving fruit varieties were discovered on the one-and one-half acres cleared of overgrowth. A tree planting grid of twenty-foot squares was apparent from the locations of the surviving trees. Most of which are apple and were available in 1890. Included are Wealthy, King, Gravenstein, Dutch Mignone, Red Astrachan, Rhode Island Greening, Bietigheimer, and Esopus Spitzenberg. There are also several pear, cherry, and chestnut treesCitation |
journal = Piper Orchard pamphlet
pages = 1-2
date = August 20, 2004
year = 2004 ] .

Current status

There are around about fifty fruit and nut trees in the orchard arranged on a grid demarked A-L going up the hill, and 1-16 going across to the right, about half have been added or grafted from old stock since the restoration in 1984blah] .

The orchard is currently cared for by a combination of Seattle Parks employed and volunteer labor from the community. The volunteer work is facilitated by the Friends of Piper Orchard organization who work with the Carkeek Park office of Seattle Parks to facilitate volunteering and orchard work party and community festival planning.

Work parties meet most months of the year on the third Saturday to prune, clean up, or do other maintenance work in the orchard.

References

External links

* [http://www.piperorchard.org/ Friends of Piper Orchard] neighborhood group website
* [http://www.seattle.gov/parks/environment/carkeek.htm Seattle Parks and Recreation] - Carkeek Park