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Arbutus Gardens

As we were touring Renee Moog's garden, another visitor told me that I should go to Arbutus Garden Arts, which was just down the road. I had no idea we were close but it was a garden I was familiar with and always wanted to visit. A pleasant surprise! Norm Jacobs is the owner, and he showed us around and answered questions. The garden is also a nursery and he propagates the plants. However, he says that he is in the process of retiring. My friend Linda bought an absolutely stunning weeping snowbell tree. I managed to discipline myself and only left with a groundcover, Erigeron pulchellus 'Meadow Muffin'. The garden is stunning with winding pathways surrounded by packed borders of mostly conifers and Japanese maples. I was enamored by the most beautiful specimen of Sourwood Tree ( Oxydendrum arboreum ). I have one that seems to be stunted, but Mr. Jacobs told me that they need space for their root zone and do not like competition. This could be my problem, as mine is surrou...

Windcliff - a book review

Windcliff is the home and garden of Daniel Hinkley and Robert Jones. It is their second garden, the first being Heronswood, the famous botanical garden and nursery in Kingston, Washington that they created in 1987. In 2000, Heronswood was sold to the Burpee corporation, who ended up closing the business in 2006. In 2012, the Port S'Klallam tribe purchased the property and set about restoring the neglected gardens and Hinkley returned as consultant and director. 

Before returning to Heronswood, Hinkley was focused on creating a new garden at Windcliff, a six-and-a-half-acre property overlooking the Puget Sound with Mount Rainier visible in the distance on clear days. While Heronswood is situated amidst a forested enclave, Windcliff is aptly named, sitting on a wind-swept cliff exposed to the elements. Hinkley says that his greatest challenge here was how to compete with the dramatic inlet view.

Both gardens, however, share a common trait - they are filled with plants collected by Hinkley during his world travels as a plant hunter. 

In Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants and Gardens (due September 15th from Timber Press), Hinkley recounts the creation of the garden and the plants, people and places that influenced him. Many of the plants he grows will be unfamiliar to most readers (at least they were for me). Unusual and exotic varieties of agapanthus, begonias, hydrangea, dierema, scheffelera and a catalog more are showcased in sweeping swaths that are punctuated by dramatic grasses, cactus and agaves. He writes about how he used plants on this grand scale and how he incorporated balance, repetition and focal points. Hardscape elements, like gates, ornaments, totem poles and prayer flags are also highlighted. In the final chapter of the book, he profiles some of the people who have influenced him like JC Raulston, Christopher Lloyd and Jamaica Kinkaid.

The photographs by Claire Takacs have an ethereal quality although I have to confess that the blown-out skies have a jarring effect on me.  She takes her photos in the early-morning hours and the landscapes are often shrouded in mist rendering an enchanting and calming effect. 

According to the website, Windcliff is open on appointed days. If you can't get there in person, this is certainly the next best thing. Loosing yourself in this beautiful book will be a worthwhile excursion.

 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. This sounds like one I will want to read.
    I just finished reading Spirit of Place the making of a New England garden by Bill Noble. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about him making this garden. I think it was most because I could identify with his approach to gardening and as you mentioned about this new book I knew most of the plants he wrote about.

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