Located on the northwest side of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Streissguth Gardens is an urban oasis. A small, family-maintained garden on a steep hillside, this little-known gem in the middle of bustling Seattle offers amazing views of Lake Union, downtown Seattle, and the Olympic Mountains. Plantings have been selected to offer flowers nearly every day of the year. Along with the beautiful vegetation and view, visitors enjoy winding trails, gurgling ponds, and birdsong.
Developed gradually over the course of more than forty years, the gardens have grown from a tangled hillside to approximately one acre of cultivated woodland. The oldest gardens surround the family’s two houses on Broadway East, just north of the East Blaine Street stairway. These gardens remain private, but visitors are welcome by appointment. The newer portions of the gardens lie south of the East Blaine stairs and they are now publicly owned and open to visitors year-round. The Streissguths still maintain these newer gardens for their new owner, the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.
