This is a beautifully laid out community garden with visual delights such as a children's garden, a…read morebutterfly garden and a gorgeous patch of dahlias which never fail to make me smile and wish it was my place I was walking through. Its true that I am a little biased because I helped build the garden from the mud up way back in 1998 but I still can't help being amazed that what was once a negected weedy area next to a parking lot was transformed into such a lovely place.

Fantabulous group of conservation-minded, organic growing, urban/suburban gardeners with a…read morebeautiful demonstration garden in the city. The setting at Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford is perfect for strolling the grounds, walking the dog and running the children around till they fall asleep with exhaustion. Need ideas for composting? Tilth has 'em. Want to know if tomatoes will ever get ripe in Seattle? Tilth can fill you in on growing tips. This is a great association to associate with.

This past growing season I bought a half share in the Seattle Tilth CSA. I've gotten CSA boxes…read morethrough several other farms before (both in Seattle and Wisconsin) and the Seattle Tilth CSA really delivered. Each week the produce was diverse, fresh, and delicious. Items were well selected and I had very little produce go to waste. The half share was a good amount for my wife and I. I also really liked the add-on options; we were out of town one week, and were able to get credit, we used our credit to select goat cheese and honey from the add-on options. That goat cheese was truly incredible! I've also got to commend Seattle Tilth for their educational programming and community empowerment work. Really a great resource for our city.

Pretty cool garden that we've walked past numerous times over the past couple months. Love to see…read morethe different veges being grown and some pretty flowers. Some of the sunflowers are crazy huge as well. Only drawback is that homeless and/or shady characters tend to hang around the edges of the garden, and you need to carefully maneuver around piles of dog crap everywhere.

Really great little community garden in the city - something we most certainly need more of! While…read moreI don't live in the area I do enjoy walking through here when I'm in the area to see what the community has going on. This most recent visit there were several neighbors working their plots and it was delightful! Everyone is so friendly and you get a very clear sense of community while coming here. Even if you don't live cloe enough to get a plot (I was told that the waiting list is 2 years long!!) feel free to come in a smell the roses - just be respectful and don't touch what doesn't belong to you!

The Community Gardens in Marymoor Park is similar to P-Patch, which is a parcel of property used…read morefor gardening, a term commonly used in the greater Seattle area. Gardening spaces are individually managed subplots for the farm/yard enthusiasts. All of them are in spectacular condition. Folks farming their little plot really want to farm it, and the results are amazing. From gorgeous flowers, to beautiful tomatoes, healthy corn stalks, 10+ feet tall sunflowers, watermelons, heirloom tomatoes and much more, these plots are a feast to the eye. It's like a botanical garden of the densely productive variety. According to the marymoorgarden.org/faq, gardeners pay a yearly plot rental fee, fulfill a community service commitment (for foodbank donations), and they cultivate their plot from May through Oct. Gardeners are required to have an obvious presence at each of their plots to weed and to prevent weeds from invading adjacent plots, which explains why they all look so incredibly healthy. Any unmaintained plots are returned to the pool. Water supply, mulch (in the form of wood chips and leaves), and a green waste area are all on site. We didn't specifically come to Marymoor Park to see the Community Gardens, but I certainly am glad we decided to stop and wander. The dahlias are in season and stunningly beautiful. The sunflowers are also in season and majestically tall. The vastness of produce varieties is envy-inducing, and we now have new ideas on trellis and support styles for climbing plants. At the very least, we learned what plants can be successfully grown here. If you're in the area, do drop in for a look. It's absolutely worth it. But if you're there to walk your dog, dogs are not allowed in the gardening area.

Follow these folks on Facebook and stop by often. They grow multiple plants, many are for eating,…read moreand they harvest and create edible goods from most of it. Includes a section they farm in order to donate to a local food bank. They have many classes here, a community garden, and it's nice just to browse and enjoy a little peaceful garden atmosphere in the middle of town.

The Bellevue Demonstration Garden is a secret garden in the neighborhoods of Lake Hills!…read more(Bellevue). The Garden is connected to a wonderful trail system and I love walking from the garden over to lake Larsen and the blueberry patch. The garden is wheelchair and stroller accessible, it is suitable for children. The demonstration garden is maintained by volunteers from Master Gardeners of King County. Features include Diagnostic Plant Clinics (free consultation on garden topics), Compost Center, Greenhouse Operations, Children's Garden, over 40 demonstration beds and gardens, Saturday Workshop Series and seasonal plant sales. I love visiting this hidden gem throughout the season.

Sammamish Animal Sanctuary has been on my radar for a minute. I was supposed to attend a goat yoga…read moreclass quite some time ago but had to cancel (boo) so I'm glad I got the chance to come back. My friend and I were trying to find a fun summer activity for the kids and brought up coming here, so we did. It's in a kind of random area in Renton, tucked away and definitely a hidden little gem if you don't already know about them. Parking lot is a tad small and only portable bathrooms are available, but they were clean and they had outdoor sinks for use. It's free to come here which is really cool, but definitely plan to bring at least $5 for animal food. Each pail costs that much, and all profits go back to keeping the farm running. You're able to buy shirts, stuffies, and some other small things as well. The staff are all really nice. They offered us a map which we kindly declined, as it's easy to just follow the path throughout the farm. You start off with looking at cute animals like different birds, bunnies, etc. They have a handful of mini horses that you're not supposed to feed as they can nip, but they were very social and literally came right to us. Of course we all had the most fun with the animals we could feed, which was mostly a variation of different goats. They have some of all sizes and they are all so sweet and have the cutest personalities. I also loved the highland cow, Daisy, but she kept her distance. We also loved the pigs! They also seemed so happy to see people and had their tails wagging. There is another fun area at the end that's essentially a petting zoo that you can walk into and hang out with the smaller goats while they play around and ask for food. One part that we didn't visit was at the far end that had some picnic tables and a small playground set. I'd say the max age for the playground was probably about 2, so I kept my kids away from over there, but it could be fun for the little ones! Overall this was a really fun find and really cool to see the work they're doing here. We'd definitely come back and support!

I volunteered with this sanctuary for years, sometimes nearly four days a week. Based on my…read moreexperience, as well as the experiences of many of my peers, we saw the sanctuary owner often prioritized media attention, money, and public recognition over the wellbeing and health of the animals themselves. There were countless times when multiple volunteers (sometimes six or more) agreed that an animal needed medical attention, yet those concerns were ignored and dismissed by Diane and management. This was incredibly frustrating for those of us who spent significant time directly caring for these loving animals and witnessing their day-to-day condition, to later see them suffer and pass away.

Mini Mart City Park is not a mini mart. It is not a park…read more It is a gallery and art space. I came across it because a friend showed their work there. It was built on a brownfield. It has a gallery, nice bathrooms, and an artist studio. They have regular visual art shows. They have events. For Georgetown Art Attack they draw a social art crowd. They sometimes block the street and invite artists and crafters to show their work. They have a focus on the environment with their programs. I saw a show of sculpture fabricated from post-consumer waste. You can follow their socials to connect with their latest!