Nestled along the shoreline of Gravelly Lake, Lakewold Gardens has been enchanting visitors for almost 40 years. Washington Rock Quarries recently contributed 115 tons of gravel to the restoration of the walking paths, just one of many planned improvements.
Step back in time with us to learn more about the history of this storied estate garden and learn about how staff are making the old new again.
A Step Back in Time
Over 117 years ago, Lakewold Gardens was a nameless forested plot next to Gravelly Lake in what is now known as Lakewood, Washington.
Tacoma was in its industrial era, teeming with steamships and lumber exports. Gravelly Lake—an 11-mile trek from the Alexander residence in waterfront Tacoma—offered a respite from daily life.
Matriarch Emma Alexander purchased the plot in 1908 and built a small cabin there. She also began a garden that attracted the attention of the local paper.
Her daughter-in-law Ruth and her son, shipping magnate H.F. Alexander, bought an adjacent lot, doubling the size of the property. They then built the grand house that remains on the grounds today.
The plot received its permanent name, Lakewold, in 1925 after it was sold to Major Everett Griggs and his wife, Grace Griggs. Lakewold means “lake-woods” in Middle English.
Major Griggs’ nephew, Corydon Wagner, and his wife, Eulalie, purchased Lakewold in 1938.
Over the next twenty years, Corydon and Eulalie added plants, like the newly rediscovered dawn redwood tree, and features such as a lion fountain. Eulalie developed a life-long interest in horticulture that complemented her natural design sense.
In 1958, Eulalie hired famed landscape architect Thomas Church to consult on the design of the estate gardens. Church’s work ranged from classical motifs to surrealist and modern design trends. He adapted to the needs of each client to find the structure and materials that worked best for a landscape.
One of Church’s first tasks at Lakewold Gardens was creating a shade garden under the Wolf Tree, a wizened old Douglas fir with sprawling branches. The Wolf Tree garden exemplifies Church’s approach to the landscape at hand: he sought to highlight rather than tame this unusual element.
Church made annual visits to Lakewold to create more of these “garden rooms”—self-contained areas throughout the estate that served as individual artistic scenes but also flowed together into one cohesive masterpiece.
Church’s contributions are hallmarks of present-day Lakewold Gardens and include the winding woodland drive, the inviting lawn and terrace, the parterres flanking the brick herringbone path, the herbal knot garden behind the house, and the ornate pool near the gazebo. Each improvement created a structured display of the colorful variety of trees, rhododendrons, alpine plants, and other botanical purchases that Eulalie collected over her 50 years at Lakewold. A century’s worth of treasures collected by the Alexanders, Griggs, and Wagners found their way to nooks and pedestals throughout the property.
In 1987, Eulalie donated the estate to a new non-profit called The Friends of Lakewold. The garden officially opened to the public on May 7, 1989.
Eulalie said it best at the dedication ceremony for Lakewold Gardens: “As we become more and more city creatures, living in manmade surroundings, perhaps gardens will become even more precious to us, letting us remember that we began in the garden.”
Reconnecting the Old World with the New
Head gardener and executive director Justin Henderson began his tenure just over a year ago.
He soon found that the Lakewold Gardens he knew didn’t match the glory apparent in older photographs. Some plantings had been removed or had died back or become overgrown. Boxwood hedges and sculptures had grown unkempt or barren. Paths had worn thin and become difficult to traverse.
Justin’s goal is to restore the gardens to their original beauty and preserve historic elements. But while preservation is an important part of his job, Justin also focuses on honoring Eulalie Wagner’s creative spirit.
For him, all future planning is a delicate balance of honoring the past and moving forward as a garden.
“If we just pulled up Thomas Church’s exact descriptions of the garden and tried to restore that, we wouldn’t be doing Eulalie Wagner any justice,” Justin explained. “Because she was adventurous in her gardening. And she loved plants. And she loved creating a welcoming environment. She was always moving forward.”
Many of the plants in the garden, Justin continued, were the latest ones available in Eulalie’s time. But what would Eulalie want now?
While preserving history is important, Justin also believes Eulalie would have been interested in emerging landscaping trends, such as plantings that are drought tolerant and beneficial to pollinators.
“Eulalie was really pushing the boundaries of what was typical or common with gardens,” Justin said. “We have to continue her spirit with garden conservation.”
Justin and his gardening team have worked on rejuvenating the parterres—classical frames made of boxwood filled with flowers. The centers were historically filled with annuals like impatiens. Now they are filled with a mixture of perennials, including Nepeta “Walker’s Low.”
Near the front gate, a new garden room was recently installed: a meditative spiral that invites visitors to experience it from afar and up close.
Brianna Ybarra, Horticulture Engagement Specialist for Lakewold Gardens, designed the Spiral Garden with accessibility in mind. For Brianna, gardens are about slowing down, soaking in the natural surroundings, and being fully present. The Spiral Garden helps visitors achieve those goals.
Bringing History Full Circle
One of the most recent updates to Lakewold Gardens is the addition of new gravel to the garden paths.
Over the years, thousands of visitors have walked the paths. The well-worn ruts and pathway material—a kind of pea gravel mix—made access difficult for visitors with physical limitations.
“The gravel situation we had made it really difficult for people using wheelchairs, strollers, and walkers to enjoy the grounds,” Justin explained.
New gravel was a wishlist item for years but seemed like a pipe dream after a grant application was denied.
But then Justin recalled a garden project he had worked on that had received a donation of landscape rock from Washington Rock Quarries. He decided to take a chance and reach out to Washington Rock.
Washington Rock was happy to provide their ¼” Minus gravel to enhance access to the gardens and complement their beauty. This gravel, also known as Trail Gravel, is a popular choice for trails. It packs down into a concrete-like surface and can meet outdoor accessibility standards when correctly installed.
Over the many weeks after delivery, the gravel was spread onto the paths, covering the old material with a flowing river of bright blue-gray stone. Justin observed that after rainfall, the stone paths turn a moody dark blue-gray, adding to the variation of the gardens.
“The color of the gravel has been huge, just for cosmetic reasons,” Justin said. “It brightened up the landscape, and it made it feel more alive. It had more of a sense of newness and fresh change here at Lakewold, which is what we have needed for a long time.”
The gravel is like a new color on the palette of Eulalie’s creation. It adds to the mystique of woodland glens dappled in sunlight and beckons guests to notice and explore each nook of the garden.
While the gravel is new, it also feels at home in Lakewold Gardens. The blue-gray color is reminiscent of the craggy peaks of Mount Rainier, making it quintessentially Pacific Northwest.
“We are coming into a garden that has always been beautiful, but it needed some fresh perspective,” Justin said. “It needed fresh energy and some things to make it more vibrant, and the gravel has been a part of that for us, big time.”
While researching for this article, a discovery was made that also brought the Lakewold Gardens story full-circle: the area where the gravel was quarried was once part of the vast logging empire owned by the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company. Major Everett Griggs succeeded his father as president of the company in the early 1900s. His tenure lasted through his residency at Lakewold.
Corydon Wagner also worked at the company for decades, eventually becoming Vice President and Treasurer. Both men stayed with the company until it merged with St. Regis Paper Company in 1958.
Who knew that decades later, the rock deposits hidden underneath the timber would find their way to Lakewold Gardens?
Welcome to Lakewold Gardens
The iron gates once meant to keep Lakewold private are opened to welcome visitors from Wednesday to Sunday from April through October and on Fridays and Saturdays in wintertime.
With admission, guests can stroll the gardens at their leisure and even picnic on the lawn. Lakewold Gardens offers group tours and Woodland Walks, a kind of guided forest therapy.
Art exhibits are held in the estate house, just above the grand sunroom that looks out onto the parterres and the nearly 100-year-old brick path to the gazebo.
“That’s where I really feel like we are capturing the essence of what this garden should be: when we are displaying art that makes you want to get outside and go explore nature and to see things in action,” Justin said.
Other special events include a Mother’s Day Stroll, Fairy Fest, Pour in the Park, and a variety of spooky All Hallow’s Eve activities. The wide variety of events allow people from all backgrounds and with all interests to connect with the garden.
A calendar of events is available on the Lakewold Gardens website.
Article cowritten and edited by Beth Woodbury Hart.
Supporting Lakewold Gardens
Lakewold Gardens depends on entry fees, proceeds from events, donations, sponsorships, and grants to stay open to the public. Over 100 volunteers, ranging from art docent to facilities maintenance, also keep the garden operational.
If you’re interested in donating or volunteering, visit the Support Us page on the Lakewold Gardens website.
Photo Credits
- Gazebo photo by Eve Hart.
- Emma Alexander photo courtesy of the Lakewold Gardens website.
- Ruth Alexander photo from Lakewold: A Magnificent Northwest Garden, edited by Ronald Fields.
- H. F. Alexander’s photo courtesy of the University of California, Los Angeles Library, Department of Special Collections.
- Eulalie Wagner photo courtesy of the Lakewold Gardens website.
- Thomas Church photo from Lakewold: A Magnificent Northwest Garden, edited by Ronald Fields. Originally sourced from the Environmental Design Archives of the University of California, Berkley.
About Washington Rock Quarries
Washington Rock Quarries is a family-owned business that produces rock, sand, and soil products at Kapowsin Quarry and King Creek Pit in Orting, Washington. We look for opportunities to give back to the community through our Giving Back Program.
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