Two acclaimed gardens made by plantsman, plant explorer, and author Dan Hinkley (and his partner, Robert Jones) were two of the biggest attractions at the Puget Sound Fling in July. While I’d read about Windcliff and Heronswood, I’d never visited either. Day 3 of the Fling was the day! First up was Heronswood, where we were ushered to a tent for lunch.

After gobbling my box lunch, I practically sprinted into the garden. But not before admiring a luscious bouquet of roses and grapes — a lovely welcome.

You likely know the story of how Heronswood was sold and almost lost, then brought back to life. If not, here’s the short version. Dan and Robert bought property in Kingston, Washington, on beautiful Kitsap Peninsula, in 1987. Over the next 13 years, they made Heronswood, a garden beloved by visitors, and built a successful mail-order nursery of rare and unusual plants Dan cultivated from his plant/seed-hunting expeditions all over the world.

In 2000, Dan and Robert sold Heronswood and the nursery to Burpee, a national seed and plant supplier, and began making their new garden, Windcliff, a few miles away. Within 6 months, Burpee declared bankruptcy and eventually shocked the world of plant nerds by shutting Heronswood down. The garden languished for the next 6 years.

Hope for the garden’s renewal was kindled in 2012. A local Indian tribe, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, purchased the garden at auction and began restoring it, bringing Dan on as director emeritus. Today Heronswood is open to the public, and new gardens are being added to incorporate aspects of tribal culture. What a turnaround! It’s an interesting new direction for the garden, under the ownership of the people for whom this land is their ancestral home.

Our time at Heronswood was short, and I mostly spent it in the colorful formal gardens around the house, which I’m featuring in this post. I also hustled through the woodland garden and new Renaissance Garden, which I’ll show in Part 2. Other gardens I didn’t have time for include a rock garden, the Traveler’s Garden, and the S’Klallam Connections Garden. Next time!

House garden

In the house garden, agapanthus was flowering atop long stems, leaning over to say hello.

Giant alliums had already gone to seed, but those sparkler-like seedheads are beautiful, especially against a tawny sedge.

Towering lilies and agapanthus

More agapanthus with a dark-leaved something

Lilies were showing off and scenting the air.

Taller than me

A Cousin Itt of a plant — a weeping larch, I believe — hunches alongside the path. What a personality.

Closer to the house, a gravel garden set off with boulders seemed a little stressed by the recent heat wave but was holding its own.

I like the paving with planted islands and zigzagging movement, leading you deeper into the garden.

Handsome tree with a ferny understory

Hornbeam arches and pond

And then — surprise! — a hornbeam hedge appears, sculpted into arches on top of arches. The leafy Gothic windows reveal glimpses of a garden room. As you approach, a containerized crevice garden slows you down for a look.

The arched hedges remind me of the Italian Renaissance garden at Château d’Ambleville, which I visited in France a few years ago. But instead of topiary and billowing perennials in the center, there’s a boulder-edged pond surrounded by a brigade of carnivorous pitcher plants. Fun!

As a framing device, the hedge is irresistible.

And pitcher plants are irresistible to flies and other insects. I hovered with my camera in hopes of capturing a fly falling into one, slowly to be dissolved and “ingested” by the plant.

So close!

They remind me of organ pipes.

Pretty veining from above

A few more arch-framed views

And now let’s move on. Here’s a plant that won’t try to eat this busy bee.

More flower power

Potager

When I discovered the potager, I let out a long “Oooh!” A formal parterre garden, it was originally a (very large) kitchen garden for Dan and Robert. These days it’s planted with perennials and annuals.

Clipped hedges rein in the flowers and lead the eye to focal points like this large fountain.

Within the green borders, colorful plants like aeonium catch the eye at every turn.

Poppy seedheads

The chanterelle mushroom fountain is a Little and Lewis creation. A mass of maroon persicaria with chartreuse leaves frames it beautifully.

What a stunning focal point.

I love the still pool of water in the mushroom’s funnel, which drip-drips over the edge into the pond below.

Astrantia, a plant I would love to be able to grow.

Here it is with a dark-leaved heuchera — perfection!

Inula with artichoke-like flower buds — cool

Ligularia and persicaria flower spikes

A graceful clematis

Lilies and a pink mallow of some sort

Love in a mist

Pink mallow

Giant allium doing its sparkler impression

Another happy bumble

Poppies gone to seed

It was hard to tear myself away from this photogenic space.

But eventually I did, as time was running short, and I wanted to see the woodland and more. Coming up in Part 2!

Up next: Heronswood’s woodland and Renaissance Garden, plus a little more of the house garden. For a look back at Nancy Heckler’s exquisite home garden, click here.

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Digging Deeper

Explore the world of succulents and cacti at the Austin Cactus and Succulent Society’s Fall Sale on 8/31 and 9/1, from 10 am to 5 pm. Held at the Austin Area Garden Center in Zilker Botanical Garden, it includes a plant show with specimen cacti and succulents, handcrafted pottery, daily silent auction and hourly plant raffles, and expert advice. Entry included with the cost of admission at Zilker Botanical Garden: Adults $6 to $8, Seniors $5 to $7, Youths $3 to $4, Children under 2 free.

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

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