Beyers Bulldog Garden
GROW’s newest garden is taking shape! GROW received a gift of land from long-time gardeners who were friends of GROW, and efforts are underway to develop it into a P-Patch community garden.
For many years, Margi and Bill Beyers gardened on undeveloped property that Bill’s family owned, and gardened for several generations, in West Seattle. Neighbors and friends visited their garden, shared the fruits and vegetables that they grew, and gathered for occasional picnics. Margi and Bill were longtime West Seattle residents, well-known in the neighborhood.
Sadly, Bill passed away a few years ago, and Margi passed on in early 2024. As a testament to their love of gardening and their outstanding community spirit, Margi’s will left the property to GROW to develop and maintain it as a community garden. GROW has named the garden Beyers’ Bulldog Garden as a tribute to Margi and Bill and their furry companions.
The garden is located a block east of Beach Drive, south of Alki, and is a full-size residential lot, but without a house. Many of the trees and plants that Margi and Bill planted are still there. The garden has a huge fig tree, magnificent mature pear and apple trees, and more raspberry bushes than you can imagine. A small greenhouse and shed are also part of the garden.
GROW began the process of converting the existing garden into open space for the community to enjoy earlier this year. Our plan is to develop a “food forest,” similar to the Beacon Food Forest, but smaller. In this type of community garden, there are no assigned plots. Anyone who wants to participate may help tend the garden, and the fruit and vegetables that are grown are available to anyone who wants them and will be shared with local food banks.
We are excited that the P-Patch program of the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is partnering with GROW to include Beyers’ Bulldog Garden as a P-Patch. Kenya Fredie and Navera Ahmed of the P-Patch office are working with GROW through this process.Their know-how and enthusiasm are crucial to making Beyers’ Bulldog Garden a success.
Members of the community are already pitching in. In September 2024, a volunteer crew from the South Lake Union Whole Foods spent several hours cleaning up the property—trimming trees, removing trash, weeding and generally sprucing up the garden last fall. Their hard work made a huge difference in how the garden looks now.
Additionally, GROW recently received a very generous ($5,000) grant from the West Seattle Garden Tour to help kick-off development of the community garden. Much of those funds will be used to fix the water system, and buy start-up supplies.
To get the garden in shape to be a P-Patch, we need help. GROW is looking for a dedicated team of volunteers to help build garden beds, improve the soil, build ADA beds, put in pathways, etc. If this is something you are interested in, please contact Elizabeth at elizabeth.g@grownorthwest.org or Eric at eric.t@grownorthwest.org.
We also need financial support. Materials for the garden will be expensive, and we depend on donors to cover these costs. All donations are tax-deductible and make a difference!
And if Bill and Margi have inspired you to leave a lasting gift of gardening as part of your legacy, please let Eric or Elizabeth know. We can help guide you through the process. It can be as simple as naming GROW in your will or as a beneficiary of your IRA or life insurance policy. VENMO also works wonders!
GROW wishes to thank Joyce Moty for her contributions to this article and most of all for her dedication to GROW and working with Margi and Bill Beyers over the years.
