The Powells

The Land

The Work

The Reward

The parcel of land stretches from Dash Point Road all the way to Redondo. About half the land was once owned by Water District 56, which supplied Redondo with its water from a well there. When the well ran dry, the district merged with the then Federal Way Water and Sewer District (now Lakehaven) and the watershed was adverstised for sale. Powell fought to preserve the wooded Cold Creek ravine as a public open space, promoting the site as an ideal addition to the King County Park system.

But private developer Andy Cratsenberg outbid King County, and the parcel was merged with other adjoining Cratsenberg properties to put the combined acreage at forty-plus. Dreams for a tract of family homes never materialized, however, and the still-undeveloped property went up for sale again a few years later. This time, Monte bought the property, still pursuing his own dream.

When Monte and Diane Powell acquired the property in 1992, the beautiful gardens you see today had been used for years as literal dumping grounds. “Before we could restore the soul,” says Monte, “we had to restore the soil.” The land was filled with piles of asphalt, concrete, old cars, used tires, and numerous other types of rubbish and waste. Consequently, the soil was so polluted that there were areas where even weeds could not grow. The first two years following the purchase of the land were spent building the soil back up so it could support plant life again.

During this rebuilding time, the Powells partnered with King County in a research project that tested different mulch preparations and their effectiveness. Powell tested the county mulch—made from yard waste and sold under the Cedar Grove brand—against five other brands. He planted crops such as winter wheat, compared the growth rates produced by the different mulches, then plowed the crops under and repeated the process.

As a result, eighteen inches of super-rich soil now blanket the ravine, jump-starting the thousand-plus trees, shrubs and flowers planted there.

“We took a derelict piece of land and turned it into a green oasis of a couple of acres in a city of 75,000 people,” Monte says. “It’s an example of what urban horticulture can do.”