Visiting the Gardens of Heronswood and Windcliff in Washington State
I always try to include as much as I can during my business trips, so they are productive, informative and fun.
During a recent visit to Indianola, Washington, I made sure to carve out some time to visit my dear friends Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones. While with them, we toured Heronswood, the revered botanical garden they created, which is now owned by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. We enjoyed a tribal dance presented by the PGST, walked through some of Heronswood's gardens, and then visited Windcliff, Dan and Robert's home and current private garden overlooking the Puget Sound. To end the day, Dan and Robert hosted a lovely six course dinner.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Heronswood is a botanical garden located in Kingston, Kitsap County, Washington. The garden was established in 1987 by plantsman Dan Hinkley and his husband, Robert Jones, an architect. It features a unique collection of plantings from Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, South Africa, New Australia & Zealand. (Photo by Samantha Jones for Heronswood)
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- Heronswood received international acclaim for its large and diverse display garden and is a favorite destination for gardeners, researchers, students and plant lovers alike. Here are views of the Heronswood Potager with boxwood hedges.
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- Heronswood was sold to the W. Atlee Burpee seed company in 2000 and then to the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe in 2012. Heronswood is now managed under a PGST tribe foundation and maintained by a small staff and crew under Dan’s direction.
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- I was able to meet with some of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe while there. It is so nice to know how committed they are to maintaining the garden for the community and other visiting garden enthusiasts. (Photo by Samantha Jones for Heronswood)
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- The group also presented a beautiful dance for us. The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, also known as the Port Gamble Indian Community, live on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State. The S’Klallams are Native Americans indigenous to the Pacific Northwest Coast. (Photo by Samantha Jones for Heronswood)
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- Here I am admiring one of the drums used in the dance presentation. (Photo by Samantha Jones for Heronswood)
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- And then here’s Dan taking photos of me with some of the tribe members. (Photo by Samantha Jones for Heronswood)
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- And here’s a group photo of all of us. The Port Gamble S’Klallams are known as the “Strong People” – a name given to them because of their resilience and passion for protecting the places they hold dear. Indeed, Heronswood is in good hands. (Photo by Samantha Jones for Heronswood)
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- I took many photos while walking through the gardens of Heronswood. This is Fuchsia ‘Debron’s Black Cherry’, with its prolific single flowers of striking maroon sepals and dark purple to black corollas. This is a hardy and upright variety with medium green foliage.
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- Hylotelephium ‘Carl’ ‘Carl’ is a clump-forming perennial that features gray-green foliage and pink flowers. It typically grows to about 18-inches tall. Masses of tiny, star-like, pink flowers bloom in September and October. Butterflies love it.
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- Actaea dahurica has fluffy white flowers densely packed on arching racemes that can reach up tp five-feet high.
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- And yes, it’s that time of year, when autumn gardens show off their brightly colored Colchicum. This is Colchicum ‘Waterlily,’ the well-loved double pink variety. Each bulb produces five to 10 flowers – so beautiful when planted in groups.
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- I love Colchicum and have grown different varieties in my gardens for many years.
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- Colchicum looks great here along the edge of the footpath at Heronswood.
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- Crambe maritima, also known by its common name sea kale, seakale or crambe grows wild along the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Isles. It is a robust mustard family perennial that typically matures in a spreading mound up to 36-inches tall. The leaves are large, fleshy, shallowly-lobed. They resemble the leaves found on collards and cabbages which are in the same family.
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- This is a potted Astelia ‘Silver Shadow’ which has long, arched silvery-green sword-like leaf blades that last all year long. The metallic foliage creates an eye-catching display in the garden.
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- I also captured a photo of this Chanterelle Fountain with Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’ behind it, which is native to the Himalayas. Tiny, rose-red to white flowers bloom June through September on narrow, long-stalked spikes.
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- Hedychium ‘Tara’ shows rich, orange flowers above sturdy bold green foliage. And, if one is close enough, one can smell its sweet fragrance, that some say is similar to gardenia or honeysuckle.
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- I couldn’t leave the area without visiting Windcliff, the current home and garden of Dan and Robert on Washington State’s Kitsap Peninsula. The garden is built on a bluff with spectacular views of Mt. Ranier in the distance.
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- The views are breathtaking. Dan planted drifts of sun-loving perennials, most of which do not need supplemental water during the growing season.
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- At Windcliff, the combination of varying soil composition, mild climate, and regular rainfall allows for such an exceptional array of plants to be seamlessly grown together.
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- Dan’s husband, Robert, designed the beautiful, low-lying, one-story house in the front bluff. The home was carefully planned to have unobstructed views of the sound.
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- Dan loves agapanthus and is always hybridizing them. Although its common name is Lily of the Nile, agapanthus originates at the other end of the African continent, in South Africa. Dan and Robert began planting Windcliff in 2005, and it develops more beautifully every year.
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