Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens
GARDEN FEATURES
Carriage Road
For over forty years the Carriage Road was an important feature of the site as a private residence. The road not only defines the Rose Garden and provides access to the Perennial Garden and Rose Arbor, but it was also a necessity for the home owners - depicting a way of life for the Moore and Turner families. The Carriage Road originally began at the home’s porte cochere, lead to the stable, and ended at the barn – east of the Conservatory.
During the restoration nearly 1,000 cubic yards of soil was removed from this site to recover the carriage road surface. Soil excavated by the City of Spokane during the 1960’s Stevens Street extension project was assumed to have been deposited over the Carriage Road and Rose Garden. Completely buried, the basalt carriage wall and the northern face of the road were found intact and were reclaimed in May 2006.
The home was designed for Frank Rockwood Moore and his wife Sarah Frances Sherlock Moore by Kirtland Cutter. Two and one-half stories tall, the house resembled an English manor. Early photographs of the home show the hillside cleared and then replanted with trees and shrubs. In 2007, a cottonwood, elm, linden, and maple presumed planted by Moore’s or Turner’s still remained in the Gardens.
Lilac Grove
The historic Lilac Grove was reclaimed in 2006. The original Lilac bushes had fallen and were overgrown by fir trees, pines, and vegetation – a natural process that began in the late 1930’s when the Gardens were no longer maintained and nature began to reclaim the hillside.
The Lilac Grove Trail and the adjoining trail to the pond were rediscovered during the restoration in April 2006. The trails did not appear on the 1946 site survey following the Spokane Park Board’s purchase of the site in 1945. Situated on a north-facing slope with a basalt rock base, natural springs, and rich loam soil, the vegetation grew quickly in this area and covered the trails before the site was surveyed.
Lilacs are not indigenous to the Spokane area. Originating in Europe and Asia, they were grown in America’s first botanical gardens as early as the mid 1700’s and were popular in New England before being planted in the west. There are over 1,000 varieties of Lilacs in shades of purple, white, and pink. Lilacs bloom for only a few weeks in the spring. To prolong their presence a selection of early, mid, and late varieties are planted. Lilac bushes can live for hundreds of years and explains why these historic bushes are still growing in the Gardens today.
1931 Pedestrian Trail - “Tiger Trail”
The historic 1931 pedestrian trail, aptly renamed the “Tiger Trail” during the restoration, is located along the east boundary of the Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens. Reconstructed in 2006, the trail was nicknamed the “Tiger Trail” to acknowledge decades of Lewis and Clark High School students who use the trails to get to and from school.
Prior to the restoration, the historic garden trails were used by walkers, joggers, and mountain bikers to access Spokane’s core. The original trail, a series of wooden staircases and paved landings, was constructed by the City of Spokane to provide pedestrians a short cut from Cliff Drive to Seventh Avenue – before the Stevens Street extension and Ben Garnett Way construction project was completed in the early 1960’s. The City of Spokane purchased an easement for the trail from Anna Larson Corbin.
There were two heavily frequented hillside trails used before the restoration was completed. One trail passed through the pond and pergola site connecting into the arbor trail and the rose arbor staircases. The second trail led through the tea house site and connected to the east staircase. Before restoration could begin and the perimeter fence was installed, neighborhoods south of the Gardens asked to retain pedestrian access through the hillside. The 1931 pedestrian trail was reconstructed to accommodate their request and constructed in the original footprint.
Outbuilding Site
The Moore-Turner property once included a stable, barn, and hen house located on the hillside behind the home. The stable stood where the main entry to the Gardens is today; the barn and hen house were east of the rose garden. A conservatory and what was once a series of connecting greenhouses ascended the hillside. The foundations are all that remain of these structures. Historic photographs or the original plans are required to restore the features and were not available at the time the restoration work was completed in 2007.
The conservatory staircase was restored in 2006. Workers discovered during the reconstruction process the staircase was added to the existing perennial garden basalt retaining wall lending support to the theory the perennial garden was originally symmetrical and possibly one of the first planting areas in the Gardens. The conservatory and the greenhouses may have been added to the site in 1911 to support the social lifestyle of Judge and Mrs. Turner.
The newly constructed conservatory foundation appears in a photograph taken between 1911 and 1914. A researcher noted it was common at that time to purchase a pre-fabricated glass structure to sit on the foundation.
Perennial Garden
Historic photographs of the Perennial Garden provide a glimpse of the site and plant materials. Fortunately the basalt retaining walls remained relatively intact during the years the garden remained untended. When the Gardens were rediscovered in 1998 a grove of Norway maples had filled this section of the garden prohibiting access to the garden features and protecting them from vandalism. The twin staircases and reflection pool were found intact and restored in 2005 and 2006.
The original plant materials in the Perennial Garden included German bearded iris and a variety of hardy perennials. An October 20, 1911 Spokane Daily Chronicle article described the water lily pond being supplied with water from a wall fountain in the form of a Mask of Pan. The mask was purchased in the 2007 restoration.
The planting plan was approved by the Spokane Landmarks Commission in July 2006. The plan is a reinterpretation of the Turner garden that flourished between 1911 and 1914. Through an extensive study of the historic photographs, the landscape designer determined the historic plants used in the garden were predominately annuals. The current garden was planted to demonstrate a selection of plants that were in fashion from 1900 to 1915. Plants lists from two Spokane projects, the Davenport and Graves gardens, were obtained from the Olmsted Archives in Brookline, Massachusetts along with heritage plant registers to develop the planting plan.
All plants used in the planting scheme were introduced into horticulture before 1915 with the exception of the perennial phlox. Modern phlox was selected as the historic varieties are mildew prone. The plants purchased in 2007 for the garden came from a wide range of specialty growers throughout the United States. For example, the iris was shipped from Ohio and Texas.
Pond & Pergola
A description of George Turner’s pond appeared in the Spokane Daily Chronicle October 20, 1911 describing these features. “A beautiful pond hollowed out of the natural rock…is one of the most novel features of the extensive landscape remodeling being done under the supervision of Landscape Architect Hugh Bryan…70 feet long, 24 feet wide and eight feet deep…will be fed from a cascade at the west end, where a sheet of water about two feet wide will tumble 10 feet over rustic rocks as a musical, graceful cataract…a rustic pergola, 75 feet long and 15 feet wide, built of rock columns and carved beams…may, when occasion requires, be used for a bath house.”
Prior to the restoration, the Pond and waterfall were intact. For several decades the Pond was used as an unofficial neighborhood skateboard park, became heavily vandalized, and covered with graffiti.
Historic photographs guided the Pergola’s reconstruction – the few remaining columns and footings were the blueprint for the construction of the structures. English ivy was identified growing around the pond and Wisteria and Virginia creeper on the pergola columns.
At the time of the restoration three of the historic basalt columns remained and were retained for the reconstructed structure. The nine concrete column replacements have a concrete core and are seated on substantial concrete foundations. Each of the two concrete pours to construct the foundations and cores were poured from a truck located on Cliff Drive. Two weeks later, the beams and rafters were set onto the columns using a crane – also parked above the cliff on Cliff Drive. It took construction workers an additional three weeks to mortar the basalt rock faces onto the nine columns.
The pond basin was intact at the time restoration began; filled with topsoil in 2005 to protect the basin from further vandalism, the soil was removed in 2007 and used in the Perennial and Rose Gardens. Prior to restoration, the waterfall was mostly intact. Rock replacement and mortar repairs on the waterfall’s south wall and along the pond rim occurred in June 2007. The pond operation was restored by covering the pond basin with a liner and applying a coat of gunite to waterproof the basin.
The plant material was planted around the pond based on the 1912 historic photographs. The original trail along the north side of the pond was not restored. To address safety concerns, the plant material was planted along the rim to become a barrier to the pond rim, making it possible to restore the pond and waterfall. The boulder in the pond was reinstalled during the restoration and is seated on a basalt outcrop just below the surface of the water.
Rose Garden
Historic photographs of the Rose Garden note the presence of hybrid tea roses and strips of lawn. Plant lists from the early 20th century Olmsted-designed Davenport and Graves residential gardens in Spokane were acquired from the Olmsted Archives in Brookline, Massachusetts to identify appropriate historic plant materials.
Pre-1910 period roses are still available in the nursery trade today and were selected to restore the garden. Modern hybrids of these varieties are less prone to disease and insects and were chosen for the restoration.
Tea House
The Tea House was displayed prominently in an April 26, 1914 article in The Spokesman-Review noting the Gardens were the “Scene of All Saints’ Rose Fete” organized by the women of All Saints’ Cathedral. Seven of the eight Tea House footings were discovered and excavated in 2006. The original footings, a historic photograph with a partial view of the Tea House, and photographic images appearing in several 1914 Spokesman-Review articles were used to reconstruct the structure.
Particularly popular in the 18th century, buildings that Westerners call “tea houses” are often Japanese-style gazebos. Purposefully planned to look unplanned, the gazebo is an open structure supported by columns and covered with a roof. Sparse in design and furnishings this garden feature is intended to provide shade and a place to rest. Historically, the tea house is known to have a good view, be surrounded by native plants, and provide a degree of shelter from the sun and wind.
When the Gardens were redesigned in 1911, the upper areas of the hillside remained native vegetation. Currant, mock orange, nine bark, Oregon grape, service berry, and snowberry remain in this area as they are indigenous to the region and original to the site.
The original eight footings were replaced with a deep concrete pad to support the heavy structure. The structure was originally white with a shingle roof and was placed in the exact location as the original footings.
Well Walk & Well House
The winding forest well walk is tucked below the rim of Cliff Drive and leads from the Pergola and Pond to the Tea House. Once a rustic stone house, the site of the well, it was used to grow mushrooms – producing about six pounds of mushrooms daily for the Turner’s in 1911.
The well provided water for the Moore-Turner home and garden. A water pipe extended through the base of the well house wall, flowed through an elevated water pipe, and filled a water tank structure that once stood in the upper terrace of the Perennial Garden.
The original well was rediscovered when the foundation was stabilized. A concrete cap was constructed to protect the well. The well walk is the highest trail on the site and leads from the Tea House to the Pond and Pergola. This trail is original and provides panoramic views of downtown Spokane and Mount Spokane. A 1912 historic photograph of Mrs. Turner on the trail provided documentation the native woodland was retained during the 1911 redesign of the Gardens.
