Picture Perfect Queen Anne
PPQA Spring Activities
Spring has brought a flurry of activity our way.
On May 16th, we had a “Mulching Work Party.” Thanks to Seattle Tree Care’s donation of 15 yards of arborist chips, hard-working volunteers added a three-inch layer of mulch to all the garden beds to help conserve water this summer.
We held our Annual Spring Fundraising Drive. As of the Summer Solstice, generous donors have responded with gifts totaling $7,229.00
Please know, too, we are grateful for your donations any time the spirit moves you.
We participated in Discover QA on June 13th. We handed out informational postcards about the gardens with packets of nasturtium seeds attached, offered a photo op with Craig, the official garden mascot, and set up a table where children and adults could plant nasturtium seeds in degradable pots they could put directly into their home garden. We had so much fun with all the kids who stopped by to plant seeds and lovely conversations with people who stopped by to talk about gardens and their love for Queen Anne.
Speaking of nasturtiums, Nicole Topping, who maintains the garden beds, introduced us to the works of Pascal Boudar, forager, wildcrafter, teacher, author. Among his recipes using foraged ingredients is one for “Nasturtium and Watercress Hot Sauce.” Are you game for trying it?!?
Keeping Queen Anne Avenue Welcoming, Commercially Vibrant and Neighborhood Friendly
By the early 2000’s, the Upper Queen Anne retail core was looking drab and rundown. Its appearance no longer reflected the warmth and welcoming spirit of our neighborhood. A group of residents and small business owners got together to change this.
As Picture Perfect Queen Anne, the group secured a funding award from the Department of Neighborhoods to bring the community together to create a vision for Queen Anne Avenue between Galer and McGraw. Over the course of three public meetings, neighbors worked together to answer a core question: What makes a great place? Their responses became the foundation for the Queen Anne Avenue Streetscape Master Plan---a design for a vibrant and people-friendly retail core.
Today, Picture Perfect Queen Anne (PPQA) continues to use the Streetscape Master Plan as a guide for all the work it does. PPQA is still an all-volunteer, grassroots neighborhood nonprofit focused on promoting the principles and elements that make great places. We collaborate with other neighborhood groups to advocate for public spaces in new developments as well as for building designs that blend in with surrounding older buildings and preserve a neighborhood feel.
PPQA’s impact on public spaces can be seen most vividly in the gardens at Galer, Boston, and McGraw. Although these gardens are located on the public sidewalks and in the greenbelt alongside the Galer Stairs, the professional care of these gardens is funded by You---our neighbors.
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