Car crashes into Parkdale Bicentennial Garden

“I didn’t know about the accident and I took my husband by the garden to show him how good it was looking,” said Parkdale Garden Club President Jean Hardman. “That’s when I saw all the damage with car parts all over and a deep rut where the car had been pulled out.”

The driver of the car abandoned the vehicle after the crash and when the Sheriff’s Office went to the registered car owner’s house, he reported the car had been stolen, leaving in doubt the liability for the damages to the property.

“We lost several trees that were snapped off and had to be removed, including Bird’s Nest Spruce, which is very slow growing,” said Hardman. “Plus we lost several other trees and decorator nursery stock plants.”

Much of what was destroyed in the crash was planted in the original Bicentennial Garden in 1976, formed wind breaks and borders, and provided shade for the other plants.

Master Gardener Paul Marcotte has been a part of the garden reboot, damage cleanup, and is now researching how to repair the damage to the garden.

“A total of six of the Bird’s Nest Spruce trees, part of the original gardens planted in 1976, were uprooted and had to be removed,” said Marcotte. “Another master gardener, who works at Good News Gardening, estimated those trees were worth $300 each.”

The current damage estimate is nearly $9,000, but the group is getting an estimate from a local landscaper for some of the work and that figure will probably increase.

“When the trees are re-planted they will each need a 3-foot deep hole,” said Marcotte. “We’ll need heavy equipment to do that kind of work.”

Marcotte is in contact with the insurance company of the car’s owner in an effort to get liability damages to bring the gardens back to its former self.

He has also contacted the Oregon Department of Transportation and requested a guard rail be installed in the curve above the gardens and better signage be installed to warn drivers of the sharp curve.

“The guard rail should have be installed years ago,” said Marcotte. “This is not the first car that has rolled in the gardens and in fact I’ve seen two in the last ten years.”

The timing of the crash couldn’t be worse as Parkdale is the location for the Central Gorge Master Gardener’s Association gardens tour on June 29 this year and the Bicentennial Memorial Garden is one of five locations that will be featured.

Marcotte says the group will have to work quickly to repair two broken irrigation lines in order to be able to water the garden this spring in time for the tour.