历史沿革与机场跑道迁建
Highline SeaTac Botanical Gardens 位于华盛顿州西塔克市（City of SeaTac）北 SeaTac 社区中心（North SeaTac Community Center）旁约 11 英亩（约 4.5 公顷）的土地上。1990 年代西雅图塔科马国际机场（SEA）启动第三条跑道扩建时，两座具有 40 多年历史的私人花园——Elda Behm 私人天堂花园（Elda Behm Paradise Garden）与清家日本庭园（Seike Japanese Garden）——位于跑道净空范围内面临拆除。当地园艺爱好者在 1999 年自发组建海莱恩植物园基金会（Highline Botanical Garden Foundation），与西塔克市政府（City of SeaTac）和西雅图港务局（Port of Seattle）合作，将数千株植物整体迁移到北 SeaTac 公园这片永久保留地，奠定了今日植物园的雏形。
九大主题花园与植物收藏
经过二十多年的扩展，植物园已形成九个主题花园：作为锚园的 Elda Behm Paradise Garden 设有鸢尾、倒挂金钟、玫瑰、萱草四个副园，并以睡莲池与多年生花境串联；Hicks Rhododendron & Azalea Garden 收藏 Bill Hicks 数十年来积累的稀有杜鹃与高山杜鹃；Lins Peony Garden 集中展示 Lins 家族捐赠的牡丹与芍药品种；King County Iris Society、Puget Sound Daylily Society、Puget Sound Fuchsia Species Society、Western Fuchsia Species Society 与 Seattle Rose Society Celebration Garden 分别由本地专题植物学会托管；自跑道工地抢救出的清家日本庭园则保留微型山与池塘景观，是整个植物园东端的和风核心。
公众参观与无障碍设施
Highline SeaTac Botanical Gardens 全年对公众免费开放（不含联邦假日），每日从黎明开放至黄昏，是往返西雅图塔科马国际机场途中休憩与散步的便捷去处。园区提供免费停车和无障碍停车位，多数园路兼容轮椅与助行设备；携带犬只须系好牵引绳并由主人全程看管。由于距离 SEA 第三条跑道仅一街之隔，游客在园中即可观赏飞机起降，与植物景观形成独特的城市绿地体验。
志愿者、合作伙伴与公众活动
基金会持续以志愿者为运营主力，每年由个人、企业与社区团体贡献数千小时工时，董事会由本地园艺、景观与社区领袖组成。合作伙伴涵盖西塔克市政府、西雅图港务局、King County Parks、4Culture、Seattle Rose Society、Puget Sound Daylily Club、Puget Sound Fuchsia Club、King County Iris Society 等机构与学会。基金会定期举办年度植物特卖会（5 月底）、冰淇淋社交（Ice Cream Social，7 月）、每月一次的花园故事会（Storytime）、本地手作市集与日落草坪现场音乐会（Music in the Garden），并常年开设修剪、嫁接、植物识别等专题工作坊。
赞助、捐赠与未来扩展
Highline Botanical Garden Foundation 以捐赠、会员、遗赠计划与赞助为主要经费来源，并设有「70 & 1/2 Club」专项长期捐赠者俱乐部，会员可享受年度植物特卖优先购、活动邀请与命名纪念物等回馈。基金会的扩建规划还包括「Future Garden」新区，用于未来与本地园艺学会合作引入新的专题收藏；现任董事会主席 Luanne Coachman 与团队正持续推动园地更新、标识系统升级与无障碍路径改善。
Origin and the Third Runway Rescue
Highline SeaTac Botanical Gardens occupies roughly eleven acres next to the North SeaTac Community Center in the City of SeaTac, Washington. In the late 1990s, the proposed third runway of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport threatened two long-established private gardens, Elda Behm’s Paradise Garden and the Seike Family Japanese Garden. Volunteers, the City of SeaTac, and the Port of Seattle formed the Highline Botanical Garden Foundation in 1999 and moved thousands of plants to the new North SeaTac Park site, creating the public garden that anchors the neighbourhood today.
Nine Themed Gardens and Plant Collections
Over more than twenty years the garden has grown into nine themed collections. The Elda Behm Paradise Garden remains the anchor and incorporates iris, fuchsia, rose and daylily plantings together with water-lily ponds and perennial borders. The Hicks Rhododendron and Azalea Garden preserves Bill Hicks’s fifty-year-old collection of rare rhododendrons and azaleas, the Lins Peony Garden concentrates peonies donated by the Lins family, and partner societies curate the King County Iris Society, Puget Sound Daylily Society, Puget Sound Fuchsia Species Society, Western Fuchsia Species Society, and Seattle Rose Society Celebration Garden beds. The Seike Japanese Garden, with its miniature mountain and pond rescued from the runway construction, anchors the eastern edge of the site.
Public Access and Visitor Amenities
The garden is open every day from dawn until dusk, year-round and free of charge, with the exception of federal holidays. Free parking and accessible parking are available on site, and most pathways accommodate wheelchairs and mobility devices; leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome. Because the garden sits directly beneath the flight path of the airport’s third runway, visitors combine plane spotting with botanic viewing, and the site is a frequent stop for travellers using Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.
Volunteers, Partners and Public Programmes
The Foundation runs on volunteer labour. Individuals, corporate groups and community organisations contribute thousands of service hours each year, and a volunteer board chaired by Luanne Coachman provides governance. Long-standing partners include the City of SeaTac, the Port of Seattle, King County Parks, 4Culture, the Seattle Rose Society, the Puget Sound Daylily Club, the Puget Sound Fuchsia Club and the King County Iris Society. The annual calendar features a May plant sale, the July Ice Cream Social, monthly Storytime in the garden, neighbourhood markets, Music in the Garden sunset concerts, and ongoing pruning, propagation and plant-identification workshops.
Support, Donations and Future Expansion
Funding comes from individual donations, memberships, planned giving, memorial sponsorships and the 70 & 1/2 Club for long-term supporters, who enjoy early access to the plant sale, programme invitations and recognition opportunities. A Future Garden expansion zone has been set aside for new specialty collections developed with partner societies, while the current board continues investments in signage, accessibility upgrades and habitat improvements across the existing nine gardens.
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